Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0023473 (chronic myeloid leukemia)
 18,916 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

After years of stagnation in the treatment of chronic haematological malignancies, some interesting agents have emerged which might improve the prognosis of these diseases. For chronic leukaemias of lymphoid lineage, three new chemical agents, all purine analogues, seem to be of particular interest. Pentostatin is a specific inhibitor of ADA and has been shown to be highly efficient in producing CR in patients with HCL. Its relative merit compared with IFN-alpha for the treatment of HCL is being studied in ongoing randomized trials. Pentostatin is also active in B-CLL and promising activities have been demonstrated in T- or B-PLL and ATCL. Fludarabine is an analogue of adenine which is resistant to the deamination of ADA. It has been reported to be highly active for patients with both pretreated or non-treated B-CLL. CR rates of 13% with overall response rates of 57% can be achieved, even in heavily pretreated patients. Its activity in the other lymphoid malignancies is not yet known. CdA, a substrate analogue of ADA, has also produced encouraging results in B-CLL, HCL and T cell malignancies, and in some patients with just one single course. Thus far, experience with this drug comes from one institution and requires further confirmation. For chronic myeloproliferative diseases, little progress has yet been made. Although IFN-alpha seems to be active in CML and to result in cytogenetic remissions in bone marrow, a definite advantage of this biological agent over conventional chemotherapy as regards survival and life quality has not yet been proven. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is beneficial for those patients who are eligible. No remarkable advances have been made in the treatment of myeloproliferative disorders except for the development of an antiplatelet drug, anagrelide. This agent seems to be highly effective in controlling thrombocytosis. The relative merit of this agent as compared with IFN-alpha, as well as the impact of this agent on the survival and on life-quality of patients with myeloproliferative disorders, have yet to be defined.
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PMID:Chemotherapy of chronic haematological malignancies. 203 59

Pentostatin, a novel inhibitor of adenosine deaminase, has shown activity in various lymphoid malignancies of both the T and B cell lineage. This agent has unique side effects and in general myelosuppression has been mild. Interferon has both antiviral and antineoplastic properties. This agent has shown activity in hairy cell leukemia, chronic granulocytic leukemia, low grade lymphoma, and myeloma. Side effects from interferon are in general dissimilar to those that have been seen with pentostatin and in particular myelosuppression has not been a major toxicity with low doses of interferon. This current trial explored the combination of pentostatin and interferon in hematologic malignancies. Fifteen patients were enrolled in this phase I trial at a fixed dose of pentostatin of 4 mg/m2 biweekly and interferon at doses of 0.5, 1, 2, or 4 million units/m2 of interferon. At the first three dose levels of interferon nausea and vomiting were the predominant toxicity and appeared to worsen with time on study. Fatigue also was seen at the lowest level of interferon and was severe enough to cause two individuals to discontinue the study medications. At higher dose levels of interferon, myelosuppression, nausea and vomiting, and fatigue were the predominant toxicities. One patient with hairy cell leukemia had a complete response and a second patient with T cell cutaneous lymphoma had a partial response which lasted for 6 to 7 weeks. The maximum tolerated dose of interferon with pentostatin in this patient population was four million units/m2.
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PMID:A phase I trial of alpha-interferon in combination with pentostatin in hematologic malignancies. 205 72

Several new cytostatic drugs have entered clinical phase I-II studies for the treatment of leukemia: the most promising are pyrimidine analogs such as 5-aza-cytidine, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, 5-aza-cytosine arabinoside, and 2',2'-difluorodeoxycytidine. Fludarabine, a fluorinated purine analog, appears to be active in CLL and multiple myeloma. Deoxycoformycin, an adenosine analog, showed good activity in the treatment of hairy cell leukemia and T-cell neoplasias. 2-chloro-deoxyadenosine has recently been introduced into the treatment of CLL and hairy-cell leukemia refractory to deoxycoformicin. Tiazofurin, an antimetabolite which interferes with nicotine-adenine-dinucleotide (NAD) metabolism, has been applied in CML blast crisis. Other agents include 13-cis retinoic acid and 1, 25-dihydroxy vitamin D3 as differentiation inducers, and homoharringtonine, an alkylating agent which is widely used for ANLL treatment in China. Among new anthracyclines, aclarubicin, idarubicin, THP-adriamycin and fluoro-adriamycin should be mentioned. Mitoxantrone, a substituted anthraquinone, has successfully been applied in the treatment of relapsed and refractory ANLL. Amsacrine (m-AMSA), finally, is a synthetic aminoacridine which intercalates into DNA and inhibits DNA topoisomerase II. m-AMSA is not cross-resistant to anthracyclines and has been particularly active in ANLL treatment. Studies using m-AMSA alone or in combination revealed comparable results to anthracycline--containing regimens. Cardiotoxicity of the anthracycline congestive type has not been observed with m-AMSA. The EORTC Leukemia Cooperative Group has successfully used m-AMSA in several trials prepositioning this drug stepwise: from relapsed and refractory ANLL, into intensive maintenance treatment during first remission in ANLL, and, still on-going, into intensive consolidation.
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PMID:New drugs in the treatment of acute and chronic leukemia with some emphasis on m-AMSA. 206 23