Leukemia patients have new drugs
Gleevec is the use of molecular biology developed one of the few successful drugs.
A confrontation of the new leukemia drug has been available, leukemia patients no longer need to rely on chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer treatment.
By the Novartis pharmaceutical company that invented the new anti-cancer drug called Gleevec, or STI-571, is to use molecular biology developed one of the few successful drugs.
Traditional chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer treatment in the removal of cancer cells at the same time, will cause harm to normal cells, prone to side effects or cause resistance to reduce vulnerability to infection. Directly attack cancer cells in the abnormal protein molecular biological drugs would be no such problems.
Gleevec is the main effect of confrontation with chronic myeloid leukemia (chronic myeloid leukemia).
Can not automatically send messages of cancer death
Chronic myeloid leukemia is a bone marrow hematopoietic tissue caused by too many white blood cell count each of 4,500 Americans were diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. Gleevec is through attacking chronic myeloid leukemia cancer cells, known as BCR-ABL abnormal protein, such treatment of cancer.
Cell protein plays for the “communication”. Gleevec was originally goal is to stop the abnormal protein, leading to cancer cells can not convey the “cancer tumor growth,” the message. However, the researchers surprise that, owing to excessive dependence on these messages cancer cells, cancer cells can not convey the message was automatically die.
A short period of time allowed to review drug
The study also showed that 54 chemotherapy invalid chronic myeloid leukemia patients, 53 taking Gleevec, the number of white blood cell count in the blood return to normal.
Significant effect, the federal Food and Drug Administration last month on the 10th an unprecedented rapid approval of this as a miracle drug. General fastest in the six-month drug can be approved, Gleevec, in a short span of two and a half months was approved.
Help to relieve patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor
Gleevec was approved a few days later, the researchers also revealed that drug use in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour) has also been a significant effect. Gastrointestinal stromal tumor is a very serious cancer, patients often died within a year. Each of the gastrointestinal stromal tumor of Americans about 10,000 people.
83 taking Gleevec of gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients, 51 were in condition to reduce the phenomenon, even for such chemotherapy and radiation are generally ineffective for cancer, is a big achievement.
The researchers now are exploring whether to Gleevec and other drugs combined, used to treat other types of cancer.
One of every five patients have side effects
However, Gleevec also has potentially serious side effects, every five patients, there is a hemorrhage in such serious side effects, they have to change the weight or suspend drug use, has not yet been killed because of side effects.
Since the drug is new, some cancer experts also questioned its long-term effectiveness. Gleevec is really whether the treatment of cancer, or merely to delay worsening condition only » Gleevec cancer cells can control how long » Why some patients will be invalid after taking » These issues are yet to be researchers found that on January 1.
Gleevec may cheaper prices, the monthly amount needed 2,000 to 2,400 U.S. dollars. In order to help the poor patients, Gleevec invention of the pharmaceutical company Novartis plans for those who are less than the annual salary of 43,000 yuan to provide free drug patients, those annual salary of less than 200,000 yuan or no medical insurance patients can also get allowances.
Although Gleevec for the treatment of many types of cancer do not have help, but the invention of drug research in molecular biology research staff, is a strong-arm. As long as one day, mankind can find various types of cancer cells in the abnormal protein, and confrontation of these protein drugs, have become all the cancer can be treated.