A team of scientists led by Dr. Ari Melnick, Gebroe Family Professor of Hematology/Oncology and director of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Center for Biomedical and Physical Sciences at Weill Cornell believe they have found a way to shut down lymphoma.
Lymphoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the Western world and may become the leading cause of cancer by 2025. A lot of evidence points to a strong chemical link.
The scientists studied diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and their ‘drug’ was shown to be able to completely eradicate the human lymphoma in mice after just five doses.
Apparently, a regulatory transcription factor, Bcl6, controls the DNA in order to ensure that aggressive lymphomas thrive. Weill Cornell researchers developed an inhibitor to stop Bc16 (online Cell Reports).
Bc16 is also know to be a controlling influence in breast cancer as well, but lymphoma was the urgent requirement. “We desperately need a new strategy to treat this lymphoma -- many patients are resistant to currently available treatments," said Melnick.
The team has been working on these inhibitors for some nine years. Now they are about to apply to the FDA for a licence to go to Clinical Trials in humans.