TWiPO #12 ~ ALL: Anti-CD19 BiTE and Genetic Risk Groups - a podcast by Solving Kids Cancer

August
05, 2011

Host Dr. Tim Cripe and co-host Maureen O’Brien
discuss recent papers on immunotherapy and DNA sequencing studies revealing new
potential targets in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

1:45 min. Results
on use of BiTE antibody (Bi-specific T-cell engaging) blinatumomab in adults
with lymphoma and leukemia:

Exp Cell Res. 2011 May 15;317(9):1255-60. Epub
2011 Mar 16. Immunomodulatory therapy of
cancer with T cell-engaging BiTE antibody blinatumomab

J Clin Oncol. 2011 Jun 20;29(18):2493-8. Epub
2011 May 16. Targeted therapy with the
T-cell-engaging antibody blinatumomab of chemotherapy-refractory minimal
residual disease in B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients results in
high response rate and prolonged leukemia-free survival.

Use of blinatumomab in pediatrics was recently
reported in Germany, and an international phase I/II trial for pediatrics is
due to begin accruing this year.

Leukemia. 2011 Jan;25(1):181-4. Epub 2010 Oct
14. Complete remission after
blinatumomab-induced donor T-cell activation in three pediatric patients with
post-transplant relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

23:00 min. Recent
findings from the TARGET Initiative (Therapeutically Applicable Research to
Generate Effective Treatments) http://target.cancer.gov/

Through NIH's TARGET initiative, scientists
sequenced 120 candidate genes in 187 high-risk childhood B-precursor acute
lymphoblastic leukemias (HR B-ALL) and normal tissues and combined the results
with data from previous studies using microarry and gene copy number studies.
Sorting through this massive amount of information revealed a high frequency of
recurrent genetic alterations in several specific cancer signaling pathways.
The information appears to be useful to stratify these patients into
subcategories, some of whom do much better than others. These data highlight
potential new therapeutic targets in certain subsets of childhood ALL.

Blood. 2010 Dec 2;116(23):4874-84. Epub 2010
Aug 10. Identification of novel cluster
groups in pediatric high-risk B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with
gene expression profiling: correlation with genome-wide DNA copy number
alterations, clinical characteristics, and outcome

Blood. 2011 Jun 16. [Epub ahead of print] Key pathways are frequently mutated in high risk childhood
acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a report from theChildren's Oncology Group

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