Life Extension Foundation sponsors highly promising breast cancer tria

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lifeextension(Life Extension)

 

Life Extension Update Exclusive

Life Extension Foundation sponsors highly promising breast cancer trial

 

According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 40,000 women will

die of breast cancer this year, while nearly 180,000 new cases of the

dread disease will be diagnosed.1 Over the course of a lifetime, one in

eight women will receive such a diagnosis.2 Breast cancer is an

all-too-prevalent disease that seems to touch every American sooner or

later. These patients are our mothers, sisters, wives, daughters,

friends, and co-workers. But despite these grim statistics,

there & rsquo;s ample reason for hope.

Advances are being made, victories won.

 

Novel treatment

 

For example, Life Extension Foundation is pleased to report that

it & rsquo;s funding highly promising research that has already yielded

remarkably encouraging preliminary results. Principal investigator, Dr.

Richard Ishmael & mdash;with colleague Dr. Steven Hamilton & mdash;has

completed a Phase I trial using two existing chemotherapeutic drugs for

the treatment of stage IV breast cancer. Administered in a novel

alternating dose protocol, the drugs docataxel and gemcitabine show

great promise.

 

Stage IV is the grim term used to describe breast cancer that has spread

beyond the breast; often to the bones, lungs, liver, or brain.

It & rsquo;s considered largely incurable, with a mere 7% five-year

survival rate. According to Medline Plus (US National Library of

Medicine), & ldquo;For stage IV cancer, the goal is to improve symptoms

and prolong survival. However, in most cases, stage IV breast cancer

cannot be cured. & rdquo;2

Dr. Ishmael and colleagues hope to rewrite that prognosis

 

The doctors who are investigating this novel approach are not

reinventing the wheel, but instead are carefully building and expanding

upon previous research, which demonstrated that docataxel and

gemcitabine could kill some breast cancer cells, some of the time.

Suspecting that subtle alterations in how these drugs are

administered & mdash;at what times and in which doses & mdash;might

significantly affect their impact on cancer cells, the doctors devised

experiments on cancer cells growing in culture to determine an optimized

treatment regimen. Eventually they found that when these drugs are

administered alternately (but not simultaneously), at specific doses,

they exert a synergistic effect. That is to say, their effectiveness

against cancer cells is greater than that exerted by either drug alone,

or even in combination.

 

Seeking additional patients

 

Moving from the laboratory to the clinic, the investigators enrolled

stage IV breast cancer patients in a Phase I trial, and fine-tuned the

doses and treatment schedule until optimum results were obtained. A

further benefit of this protocol is a reduction in side effects and

overall toxicity. The team, which now includes additional oncologists in

the Oklahoma City area, is currently treating more women in an ongoing

Phase II trial, and they are seeking new subjects.

 

Although the trial is in the early stages, impressive results have

already been obtained. & ldquo;The first patient & hellip;has had a

complete response, & rdquo; writes collaborator Dr. Orn Adalsteinsson. Dr.

Ishmael concurs.

& ldquo;[This protocol] is unique. There are a lot less side effects;

it & rsquo;s better tolerated & hellip;We & rsquo;ve had very, very good

results. & rdquo; So far only one of nine patients has failed to respond.

Four have experienced a & ldquo;complete response. & rdquo; With additional

patients, Dr. Ishmael hopes to be able to report soon that the results

are nothing short of extraordinary. & ldquo;Dr. Ishmael is one of the

most effective oncologists in the US, & rdquo; says Dr. Adalsteinsson.

& ldquo;He has been very successful. & rdquo;

 

Potential subjects with early stage IV breast carcinoma (first relapse

or metastatic presentation) wishing to volunteer for inclusion in this

trial should contact Nurse Coordinator Angie Miller, at Cancer Treatment

Center of Oklahoma, 230 N. Midwest Blvd. Midwest City, OK 73110 or by

calling

(405) 737-8455. Alternately, you may e-mail Dr. Ishmael at

ishdr.

 

This study is being funded by a grant from the Life Extension

Foundation.

& mdash;Dale Kiefer

1. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast

Accessed May 25, 2007.

2. Available at:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000913.htm Accessed May

25, 2007.

 

Health Concern

Breast cancer

 

Most women share a common fear: developing breast cancer. This is not an

unfounded fear when considering that, except for lung cancer, breast

cancer is the most common cancer found in women, accounting for one of

every three diagnoses. However, men are also affected by breast cancer.

 

One of the most important supplements for a breast cancer patient is the

hormone melatonin. Melatonin inhibits human breast cancer cell growth

(Cos et al. 2000) and reduces tumor spread and invasiveness in vitro

(Cos et al.1998). Indeed, it has been suggested that melatonin acts as a

naturally occurring anti-estrogen on tumor cells, as it down-regulates

hormones responsible for the growth of hormone-dependent mammary tumors

(Torres-Farfan 2003).

A high percentage of women with estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer

have low plasma melatonin levels (Brzezinski et al. 1997). There have

been some studies demonstrating changes in melatonin levels in breast

cancer patients; specifically, women with breast cancer were found to

have lower melatonin levels than women without breast cancer (Oosthuizen

et al. 1989). Normally, women undergo a seasonal variation in the

production of certain hormones, such as melatonin. However, it was found

that women with breast cancer did not have a seasonal variation in

melatonin levels, as did the healthy women (Holdaway et al. 1997).

http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-022.shtml