Early Promise Of New Treatment To Reduce Infection Associated With Chemotherapy (P 275)January 23, 2003Authors of a fast-track study in this week's issue of THE LANCET propose an alternative to antibiotics to treat infection associated with the use of chemotherapy for patients with blood cancer. The toxic effects of chemotherapy cause organisms in the gut to migrate to the bloodstream, frequently resulting in bacterial infection. Michael Ellis and colleagues from the United Arab Emirates investigated whether interleukin 11 (IL-11)-an agent involved in the immune response and thought to protect gastrointestinal cells from toxicity associated with chemotherapy-could prevent gut-associated infections. 40 patients with blood cancer received either 50 microgrammes per kg bodyweight of IL-11 or placebo as daily injections. Significantly fewer patients who received IL-11 rather than placebo developed bacterial infection, particularly of gastrointestinal origin. IL-11 slowed the time to first infection compared with placebo Michael Ellis comments: "The administration of IL-11 reduces bacteraemia, predominantly of gastrointestinal origin, in patients with haemological malignant disease undergoing chemotherapythe number of patients enrolled was small, so larger clinical trials should be done to confirm our findings. If our findings are substantiated, IL-11 could offer a new non-antibiotic approach to the management of sepsis in these patients." Contact: Dr Michael E Ellis, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, PO Box 17666, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates; T) +971 3722 3942; E) michael.ellis@uaeu.ac.ae Lancet |
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| Related Chemotherapy Current Events and Chemotherapy News Articles New cancer target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, or white blood cells. Fertility procedures need not delay breast cancer treatment for younger women A new study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that breast cancer patients under 40 years old who undergo fertility preservation do not face a significant delay in the treatment of their disease when their care is coordinated in a timely fashion. Drugs to treat anemia in cancer patients linked to thromboembolism Medications frequently given to cancer patients to reduce their risk of anemia are associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, according to new research led by Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., co-director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. For young boys with cancer, testicular tissue banking may be option to preserve fertility For parents of children with cancer, the hopeful news is that pediatric survival rates have steadily improved for decades. Among the bad news-treatments that enable survival often cause infertility. FDA approved leukemia drugs shows promise in ovarian cancer cells The drug Sprycel, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, significantly inhibited the growth and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells and also promoted their death, a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found. 1930s drug slows tumor growth Drugs sometimes have beneficial side effects. A glaucoma treatment causes luscious eyelashes. A blood pressure drug also aids those with a rare genetic disease. First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options. New Synthetic Molecules Trigger Immune Response to HIV and Prostate Cancer Researchers at Yale University have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body's immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their findings, published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases. Chemo-radiation before prostate removal may prevent cancer recurrence Researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center have found a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy given before prostate removal is safe and may have the potential to reduce cancer recurrence and improve patient survival. PMH finding may help some tonsil cancer patients avoid chemotherapy Clinical researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) have confirmed that patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer ("tonsil cancer") harbour a common type of human papilloma virus (HPV16), but also that such cancers are very sensitive to radiation. More Chemotherapy Current Events and Chemotherapy News Articles |
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