Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019829 (Hodgkin's disease)
 30,247 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Angiogenesis is defined as the formation of new capillaries from prexisting blood vessels and plays an important role in the progression of solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. Markers of angiogenesis correlate with clinical characteristics in leukemia and non-Hodgkin's-lymphoma, serving as predictors of poor prognosis. Antiangiogenic effects of chemotherapeutics as well as of novel drugs such as farnesyltransferase inhibitors and tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as Gleevec might contribute to their therapeutic potential. Thalidomide which has antiangiogenic effects and direct cytotoxic effects was found to be effective in multiple myeloma and is considered as an established treatment modality for patients with refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma. Thalidomide has a significant therapeutic effect in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) by improving cytopenia and achieving independence of transfusion therapy in a subset of patients. Preliminary data indicate activity of specific VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitors in multiple myeloma (MM) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The positive correlation between increased levels of angiogenic cytokines and clinical response to VEGF-RTK inhibitors and thalidomide indicates the relevance of detecting angiogenesis markers to identify best candidate patients for specific approaches. Including antiangiogenic drugs into treatment protocols for hematologic malignancies is an important task for future clinical studies.
 ...
PMID:Antiangiogenic therapy in hematologic malignancies. 1507 37

A phase 2 study of the oral farnesyltransferase inhibitor tipifarnib was conducted in 93 adult patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma. Patients received tipifarnib 300 mg twice daily on days 1-21 of each 28-day cycle. The median number of prior therapies was 5 (range, 1-17). For the aggressive B-cell, indolent B-cell, and T-cell and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL/T) groups, the response rates were 17% (7/42), 7% (1/15), and 31% (11/36), respectively. Of the 19 responders, 7 were diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), 7 T-cell NHL, 1 follicular grade 2, and 4 HL. The median response duration for the 19 responders was 7.2 months (mean, 15.8 months; range, 1.8-62), and 5 patients in the HL/T group are still receiving treatment at 29-64+ months. The grade 3/4 toxicities observed were fatigue and reversible myelosuppression. Correlative studies suggest that Bim and Bcl-2 should be examined as potential predictors of response in future studies. These results indicate that tipifarnib has activity in lymphoma, particularly in heavily pretreated HL/T types, with little activity in follicular NHL. In view of its excellent toxicity profile and novel mechanism of action, further studies in combination with other agents appear warranted. This trial is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00082888.
 ...
PMID:Multi-institutional phase 2 study of the farnesyltransferase inhibitor tipifarnib (R115777) in patients with relapsed and refractory lymphomas. 2172 56

Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are successfully used in the management of non-Hodgkin lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. We have reported previously that statins induce conformational changes in CD20 molecules and impair rituximab-mediated complement-dependent cytotoxicity. Here we investigated in more detail the influence of farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) on CD20 expression and antitumor activity of anti-CD20 mAbs. Among all FTIs studied, L-744,832 had the most significant influence on CD20 levels. It significantly increased rituximab-mediated complement-dependent cytotoxicity against primary tumor cells isolated from patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas or chronic lymphocytic leukemia and increased CD20 expression in the majority of primary lymphoma/leukemia cells. Incubation of Raji cells with L-744,832 led to up-regulation of CD20 at mRNA and protein levels. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay revealed that inhibition of farnesyltransferase activity was associated with increased binding of PU.1 and Oct-2 to the CD20 promoter sequences. These studies indicate that CD20 expression can be modulated by FTIs. The combination of FTIs with anti-CD20 mAbs is a promising therapeutic approach, and its efficacy should be examined in patients with B-cell tumors.
 ...
PMID:Prenyltransferases regulate CD20 protein levels and influence anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody-mediated activation of complement-dependent cytotoxicity. 2284 92