Tag Archives: cll

Disorder in gene-control system is a defining characteristic of cancer, study finds

The researchers also showed that derangement in the methylation process has a direct bearing on the effectiveness of cancer therapy. In patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), they found that treatment produced shorter remissions if the tumor tissue showed signs of highly disorganized methylation. The findings demonstrate that such disorganization can actually benefit tumors and render them less vulnerable to anti-cancer drugs. …

Leap in leukemia treatment

CLL lives both in the blood in circulation, and in lymph nodes and bone marrow. The former is relatively easy to kill, but the disease recurs because of resistant CLL cells in the lymph nodes and bone marrow. The researchers found an innovative drug combination that targets the stubborn CLL cells. "We have been studying the mechanism in the cancer cells that causes the resistance to treatment," says Alan Eastman, the senior researcher on the team and a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, "and that in turn, led us to find drugs that target the resistance." Eastman led the team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center that also included Ryan Soderquist, Darcy Bates, and Alexey Danilov. …