Gene-Altering Leukemia Treatment

An article in the New York Times discusses the recent recommendation on approval of a gene-altering Leukemia treatment.  The recommendation came from the FDA panel and it would allow allow the genetic alteration of a patients cells to fight their own cancer.  If the FDA accepts the recommendation, it will be the first gene therapy to reach the market in the United States.  Novartis is the drug company that will likely be first; they target the treatment of Leukemia but are currently working on other types of cancer.  Emily Whitehead was the first child to revive the treatment, as a clinical trial, and it saved her life; Whitehead grew very ill and came close to death but she emerged cancer free.  This is one of the main reasons there has been hesitation with this therapy.  In some cases the patients suffer from life-threatning illness; however, this treatment can be an alternative to the toxic treatments like chemotherapy.  There are still questions about the short-term side affects as well as the chances these cells can cause secondary cancer later in life.  In the current studies the cancer has not reappeared but the study will continue continue until fifteen years from treatment.  This could be a huge breakthrough on curing cancer, this is so important because cancer is hard to fight and the current toxic treatments further break down the immune system making it hared to patients to stay healthy.  This is a huge step in the right direction and will most likely be approved by the FDA.

photograph by cufflink photography

It all started when Peter Way, an engineer in Fort Collins, found that his black Labrador, Prince, developed melanoma in his mouth after turning ten.  He enrolled prince in a clinical trial at Colorado State University’s Flint Animal Cancer Center. Researchers were testing a subcutaneous delivery method for interleukin12, which is under study for treating cancers in people.  The drug initially boosted Prince’s ability to fight off the melanoma giving him eight more months to live but then the cancer came back and the dog had to be put down. They are hoping more pet owners will follow Mr.Way to help out cancer research.  Dogs are a main focus of research in the cancer community, after the preliminary mapping of the canine genome in 2005 and advances in veterinary medicine. They now have a vaccine for melanoma and have several more in development.  Researchers are now looking at inherited genes that make certain breeds more susceptible to specific cancers. No medicine developed first in dog has yet to cross over to human use. We can use human developed drugs and use them to treat canine cancer.

We found out my Pit-bull, Rex, had cancer a little bit before Christmas last year when we saw he wasn’t eating and his lymph nodes were budging under his neck. We didn’t put him through chemo because we were told it would be really painful for Rex, it might not work, and it would be really expensive without pet insurance. If I knew about clinical trials, as long as I knew Rex wouldn’t be in more pain then he was, I would have tried it. I would have done anything to keep him around a bit longer. It makes me happy that they are working towards curing cancer not only for dogs but for humans also. 

Nobel Prized in Chemistry Awarded for DNA Studies

                        

On October 7, 2015, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded in Stockholm, Sweden. The recipients of this award were Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich, and Aziz Sancar for there work in mapping out cell repair in DNA. During DNA replication, errors are prone to occur due to the shear number of nucleotide base pairs. DNA experiences these changes thousands of times daily and without DNA repair life would be impossible to sustain.

Each of these scientists worked individually to produce a mechanism for this process. Tomas Lindahl discovered the mechanism in which the cytosine-guanine base pair repairs itself. Lindahl discovered that, despite cytosine easily losing an amino group, during replication, the defect does not appear. He was then able to recreate this process and created a mechanism for base excision repair. Aziz Sancer studied the process which DNA are damaged by ultraviolet waves. While working with bacteria, which consisted of three different UV radiation sensitive mutations, he discovered the mechanism for the repair of these bacteria. He then developed the mechanism for the human equivalent. Paul Modrich also worked with bacteria. During his research he developed viruses which changed the base pairs of the bacteria, but despite this the bacteria repaired its DNA. Modrich was later able to recreate this base pair repair mechanism.

This research is crucial to the development of drugs to cure cancer. Skin cancer is created by alterations in DNA caused by UV radiation; by knowing the mechanism of how DNA repairs itself from UV damage, doctors may be able to create drugs or use techniques to repair the DNA to its healthy state. Other cancers which are created by similar means can also be combated in this fashion. These scientists are all deserving of this prestigious award for their work in furthering the understanding DNA. I also feel that this research can be crucial to genetic engineering. If medicine advances to the point where DNA can be fixed, then it should be possible to completely alter an embryo's DNA to prevent inherited diseases.


original article