Monday, May 16, 2005

Dr. Meir Wetzler to present Leukemia Research at ASCO Annual Meeting

BUFFALO, NY – Meir Wetzler, MD, departments Medicine and Immunology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), and colleagues will present the preliminary results of their clinical study titled, “Targeting signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 protein with arsenic trioxide – a phase I clinical trial,” (abstract # 6538) at the 41st annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), May 16, in Orlando, FL.

The outcome of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains poor, and new treatment approaches are needed. Dr. Wetzler and colleagues have shown that STAT3, a protein that transfers signals from outside the cells, is activated in half of AML patients, and that these patients have a worse outcome.

The researchers previously showed that arsenic trioxide down-regulates the activated STAT3, and designed a phase I clinical trial to test the effect of increasing doses of arsenic trioxide on this protein followed by standard high-dose chemotherapy in patients with AML younger than 60 years of age. To date, 27 patients (17:10 female:male), with a median age of 46, have been accrued. Eighteen patients (66%) achieved complete remission.

These results show that down-regulation of the protein can be achieved in samples from AML patients at a biologically effective dose (0.25 mg/kg) of arsenic trioxide. The results also document the feasibility of conducting a phase I clinical trial in AML patients younger than 60 years of age and that treatment outcome can be maintained as expected for this intensive chemotherapy regimen.

The research team is now conducting the phase II portion of the trial and accruing seven more patients to perform additional analyses. This work is partially supported by the National Cancer Institute.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute- designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers. For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI or e-mail askrpci@roswellpark.org.

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