June 1, 2001, Hour One: Hour One: Targeted Cancer Drugs

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Hour One: Targeted Cancer Drugs

In May, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug "Gleevec" (imatinib mesylate, also known as STI-571), for treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia. The approval came in record time for a new drug - but that's not the only reason that the approval was noteworthy. Gleevec, made by Novartis, is the first of several new cancer drugs that have been developed to target very specific aspects of a cancer's development.

Previous treatments for many cancers, including radiation and chemotherapy, are 'blunt instruments' that can do substantial damage to healthy tissues while battling cancerous cells. The new 'targeted' therapies focus their attacks much more finely, in the same way that the protease inhibitors used in many HIV combination therapies target one specific step in the reproduction of that virus. Gleevec, a specific inhibitor of the translocation-created enzyme, is said to work by blocking the rapid growth of white blood cells.

"For the first time, cancer researchers now have the necessary tools to probe the molecular anatomy of tumor cells in search of cancer-causing proteins," said Richard Klausner, M.D., director of the National Cancer Institute. "Gleevec offers proof that molecular targeting works in treating cancer, provided that the target is correctly chosen. The challenge now is we've got to find these targets."

In this hour of Science Friday, we'll be taking a look at the newest targeted cancer drugs, and talk about what's coming though the development pipeline. Will these new treatments make cancer a more manageable disease? Call in with your thoughts and comments at 1-800-989-8255, and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required)

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Guests:
Brian Druker
Professor, Medicine
Director, Oregon Health and Science University Leukemia Center
Portland, Oregon

Jerome Groopman
Dina and Raphael Recanati Chair of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Chief of Experimental Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts

Dennis Slamon
Director, Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program
Jonsson Cancer Center
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California

Vincent DeVita, Jr.
Director, Yale Cancer Center
Yale University Medical School
New Haven, Connecticut

Books/Articles Discussed:

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