A combination of Zileuton, an asthma medication and imatinib, commonly known as Gleevec, the most effective current leukemia medication, can effectively treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
© AFP/File Pascal PavaniJune 07, 2009, (Sawf News) - A combination of Zileuton, an asthma medication and imatinib, commonly known as Gleevec, the most effective current leukemia medication, can effectively treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
Jackson Adjunct Professor Shaoguang Li, M.D., Ph.D., who now has a laboratory at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, led a research team that identified a gene involved with the inflammatory response that could hold the key to treating or even preventing chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), a lethal cancer.
The researchers also showed that an asthma medication for human patients is an effective treatment for CML in mice.
The gene, Alox5, processes essential fatty acids to leukotrienes, which are important agents in the inflammatory response. But according to the researchers, Alox5 has a more sinister side. It is vital to the development and maintenance of cancer stem cells.
Cancer stem cells are slow-dividing cells that are thought to give rise to a variety of cancers, including leukemia, and to be critical for maintaining them. Researchers theorize that cancer stem cells must be targeted for effective treatment of many cancers, but direct evidence is still lacking.
The researchers found that CML did not develop in mice without Alox5 because of impaired function of leukemia stem cells. Also, Alox5 deficiency did not affect normal stem cell function, providing the first clear differentiation between normal and cancer stem cells.
Li also treated mice with CML with Zileuton that inhibits the Alox5 inflammation pathway, as well imatinib, the most effective current leukemia medication. Imatinib effectively treated CML, but Zileuton was more effective. The two drugs combined provided an even better therapeutic effect.
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