Weill Cornell Researchers: Velcade + PD 0332991 Weaken & Defeat Myeloma Cells, Potential for Lymphoma

In laboratory experiments, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have demonstrated that the cancer fighting effects of Velcade (bortezomib) and PD 0332991  were exponentially multiplied when used together in their laboratory studies on multiple myeloma tumor cells.

The normal cellular growth cycle is derailed in cancer. Uncontrolled growth and multiplication is often the result. The researchers found that PD 0332991 stops the cellular cycle in a vulnerable moment, leaving the cancer cell wide open for cellular destruction by Velcade.

The study, published online last month by the journal Blood, is the first to show that precise timing of therapies that target a cancer cell’s cycle — the life phases leading to its division and replication — disables key survival genes, resulting in cell death. The drug that delivers the weakening jab at the cell cycle is the experimental agent PD 0332991, which allows Velcade, a proteasome inhibitor already approved for use in myeloma and lymphoma, to land the final defeating blow at lower than normal doses.

Dr. Selina Chen-Kiang, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and of Microbiology and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College was the lead scientist on the study. In an interview Dr. Chen-Kiang said:

“Because robust functioning of the cell cycle is crucial to cancer growth and survival, this mechanism-based strategy could theoretically be used against many kinds of cancers.”

The same combination is being tested in patients with mantle cell lymphoma in a Weill Cornell investigator-initiated study led by Dr. John Leonard. Click here for more information about the mantle cell lymphoma study.

 

Weill Cornell’s Dr. Cerchietti Receives Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Award for Study of B-Cell Lymphoma

Dr. Leandro Cerchietti

Dr. Leandro Cerchietti has received a Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award (one of only 12 such awards given yearly by the Doris Duke Foundation). Funding is $150,000 per year spanning 3 years.

Dr. Cerchietti’s project centers on the role of metabolism in determining the clinical behavior of tumors, using metabolomic profiling for the study of B-cell lymphoma.

“Metabolism” is a term that refers to all the biochemical processes of an organ, tumor, or cell, that sustain life. These processes allow cells to grow, reproduce, maintain their structures and respond to environmental changes. Dr. Cerchietti’s study will reveal how — and what — the lymphoma “eats” to survive. It will also explore how these pathways can be “manipulated” in order to “starve them to death.” The goals is to ultimately launch the development of a new class of specific (and non-toxic drugs), and treatments, that could benefit patients with lymphomas.

“We will harness the power of metabolomic profiling to detect certain biological processes in patients; to ascertain whether drugs are hitting their targets in vivo; and to predict clinical outcomes in patients. I think this work has the potential to make important scientific and translational contributions to the diagnosis and treatment of B-cell lymphomas,” says Dr. Cerchietti.

 

Weill Cornell’s Dr. John Leonard Elected Chair of Lymphoma Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Board

 

John Leonard, MD

The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) has announced the election of John Leonard, MD, as the chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board.

Dr. Leonard is the associate dean for clinical research at Weill Cornell Medical College, vice chairman for clinical research in the Department of Medicine, and the Richard T. Silver Distinguished Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology. He also serves as clinical director of the Weill Cornell Lymphoma Program, attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and is associate director for Clinical Research of the Weill Cornell Cancer Center.

Dr. Leonard’s two-year term as Chair began July 1, 2012.

Comprised of the world’s leading lymphoma researchers and oncologists, the Scientific Advisory Board formulates the LRF research portfolio, seeking out the most innovative and promising lymphoma research projects for support. The board reviews grant proposals and makes recommendations regarding research priorities and funding to the Foundation Board of Directors. The board also evaluates the progress of on-going research projects and guides the  direction of the Foundation’s research programs.