|
|
BACK
to September 2003 HOPE Newsletter Contents
Metronomic
Chemotherapy
New Research Begins At Stehlin Lab
 |
The
Stehlin lab has a new research study underway on an
alternative to traditional chemotherapy, supervised
by Dr. Beppino Giovanella, laboratory director and
Dana Vardeman, laboratory supervisor. |
Stehlin Foundation researchers recently began new studies
to develop an alternative, less arduous form of chemotherapy
for cancer patients.
Metronomic chemotherapy differs from conventional chemotherapy
by administering a prolonged, lower dose of anti-cancer
drugs to prevent the growth of new capillaries to the tumor.
Destroying these capillaries cuts off the supply of oxygen
and nourishment to the cancerous tumor, inhibiting it from
growing and spreading.
Stehlin researchers Dr. Beppino Giovanella and Dana Vardeman
explain this exciting new research project.
Q: Can you give us some background on this new study?
Dana Vardeman: “Conventional chemotherapy attacks
cancer cells through a variety of mechanisms that eventually
kill the cells. Since all of these mechanisms are also deadly
to normal body cells, this limits the amount of conventional
chemotherapy
that we can administer. An additional complication is that
cancer cells can become resistant to chemotherapy, but the
normal cells don’t. The drugs can lose their cancer-fighting
effectiveness but still damage normal cells.”
Q: Can you tell us how your new study is different from
conventional chemotherapy?
Dr. Giovanella: “The theory behind ‘metronomic,’
anti-angiogenic chemotherapy is to administer very low doses
of conventional anti-cancer drugs to attack cells that supply
oxygen and nourishment to the tumor. The dosages are too
low to kill the cancer cells directly, but high enough to
arrest capillary growth—very small blood
vessels—that supply nutrients to the cancer cells.
Cancer cells generally require less nourishment than normal
cells, and the vascularization of cancer cells is generally
insufficient for normal cells. In order to grow, cancers
actually send out a chemical messenger, an angiogenesis
agent, promoting the growth of the capillaries.”
“Given in very low doses, but over a prolonged period
(“metronomic” administration), anticancer drugs
can prevent the formation of new capillaries, keeping the
cancer from growing. The dose is not high enough to kill
the existing tumor, but it should stop the cancer’s
progression, even if the tumor cells have become resistant
to the drug.”
Q. What can you tell us about the results?
Dana Vardeman: “We began by establishing the average
amount of water taken in by mice on a daily basis. We then
add the drug to the drinking water and let the animals drink
it continually, without breaks. In our first study, we found
that after four months,
all of the treated animals were alive and well, with no
progression of tumor growth. In contrast, all control animals
had been eliminated within the first two months due to substantial
tumor growth. In this study, no toxicity was noted in the
treated mice.”
Q.What’s next?
Dr. Giovanella: “Stehlin researchers will continue
to pursue this modality, investigating proper dosages and
different anti-cancer agents, testing against a variety
of human tumors transplanted into mice. Additional research
will combine metronomic dosing with conventional doses and
scheduling of the Stehlin lab’s family of camptothecins.
We hope to destroy the established tumor and to prevent
further growth and spread, without introducing additional
toxicity.”
BACK
to September 2003 HOPE Newsletter Contents
|
