Browsing by Subject "Imatinib Mesylate"

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    A Randomized Phase II Crossover Study of Imatinib or Rituximab for Cutaneous Sclerosis after Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.
    (Clin Cancer Res, 2016-01-15) Arai, Sally; Pidala, Joseph; Pusic, Iskra; Chai, Xiaoyu; Jaglowski, Samantha; Khera, Nandita; Palmer, Jeanne; Chen, George L; Jagasia, Madan H; Mayer, Sebastian A; Wood, William A; Green, Michael; Hyun, Teresa S; Inamoto, Yoshihiro; Storer, Barry E; Miklos, David B; Shulman, Howard M; Martin, Paul J; Sarantopoulos, Stefanie; Lee, Stephanie J; Flowers, Mary ED
    PURPOSE: Cutaneous sclerosis occurs in 20% of patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and can compromise mobility and quality of life. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We conducted a prospective, multicenter, randomized, two-arm phase II crossover trial of imatinib (200 mg daily) or rituximab (375 mg/m(2) i.v. weekly × 4 doses, repeatable after 3 months) for treatment of cutaneous sclerosis diagnosed within 18 months (NCT01309997). The primary endpoint was significant clinical response (SCR) at 6 months, defined as quantitative improvement in skin sclerosis or joint range of motion. Treatment success was defined as SCR at 6 months without crossover, recurrent malignancy or death. Secondary endpoints included changes of B-cell profiles in blood (BAFF levels and cellular subsets), patient-reported outcomes, and histopathology between responders and nonresponders with each therapy. RESULTS: SCR was observed in 9 of 35 [26%; 95% confidence interval (CI); 13%-43%] participants randomized to imatinib and 10 of 37 (27%; 95% CI, 14%-44%) randomized to rituximab. Six (17%; 95% CI, 7%-34%) patients in the imatinib arm and 5 (14%; 95% CI, 5%-29%) in the rituximab arm had treatment success. Higher percentages of activated B cells (CD27(+)) were seen at enrollment in rituximab-treated patients who had treatment success (P = 0.01), but not in imatinib-treated patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the need for more effective therapies for cutaneous sclerosis and suggest that activated B cells define a subgroup of patients with cutaneous sclerosis who are more likely to respond to rituximab.
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    Engineering a BCR-ABL-activated caspase for the selective elimination of leukemic cells.
    (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2013-02-05) Kurokawa, Manabu; Ito, Takahiro; Yang, Chih-Sheng; Zhao, Chen; Macintyre, Andrew N; Rizzieri, David A; Rathmell, Jeffrey C; Deininger, Michael W; Reya, Tannishtha; Kornbluth, Sally
    Increased understanding of the precise molecular mechanisms involved in cell survival and cell death signaling pathways offers the promise of harnessing these molecules to eliminate cancer cells without damaging normal cells. Tyrosine kinase oncoproteins promote the genesis of leukemias through both increased cell proliferation and inhibition of apoptotic cell death. Although tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as the BCR-ABL inhibitor imatinib, have demonstrated remarkable efficacy in the clinic, drug-resistant leukemias emerge in some patients because of either the acquisition of point mutations or amplification of the tyrosine kinase, resulting in a poor long-term prognosis. Here, we exploit the molecular mechanisms of caspase activation and tyrosine kinase/adaptor protein signaling to forge a unique approach for selectively killing leukemic cells through the forcible induction of apoptosis. We have engineered caspase variants that can directly be activated in response to BCR-ABL. Because we harness, rather than inhibit, the activity of leukemogenic kinases to kill transformed cells, this approach selectively eliminates leukemic cells regardless of drug-resistant mutations.
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    Treatment with Imatinib in NSCLC is associated with decrease of phosphorylated PDGFR-beta and VEGF expression, decrease in interstitial fluid pressure and improvement of oxygenation.
    (Br J Cancer, 2006-10-23) Vlahovic, G; Rabbani, ZN; Herndon, JE; Dewhirst, MW; Vujaskovic, Z
    Elevated intratumoral interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) and tumour hypoxia are independent predictive factors for poor survival and poor treatment response in cancer patients. However, the relationship between IFP and tumour hypoxia has not yet been clearly established. Preclinical studies have shown that lowering IFP improves treatment response to cytotoxic therapy. Interstitial fluid pressure can be reduced by inhibition of phosphorylated platelet-derived growth factor receptor-beta (p-PDGFR-beta), a tyrosine kinase receptor frequently overexpressed in cancer stroma, and/or by inhibition of VEGF, a growth factor commonly overexpressed in tumours overexpressing p-PDGFR-beta. We hypothesised that Imatinib, a specific PDGFR-beta inhibitor will, in addition to p-PDGFR-beta inhibition, downregulate VEGF, decrease IFP and improve tumour oxygenation. A549 human lung adenocarcinoma xenografts overexpressing PDGFR-beta were grown in nude mice. Tumour-bearing animals were randomised to control and treatment groups (Imatinib 50 mg kg(-1) via gavage for 4 days). Interstitial fluid pressure was measured in both groups before and after treatment. EF5, a hypoxia marker, was administered 3 h before being killed. Tumours were sectioned and stained for p-PDGFR-beta, VEGF and EF5 binding. Stained sections were viewed with a fluorescence microscope and image analysis was performed. Imatinib treatment resulted in significant reduction of p-PDGFR-beta, VEGF and IFP. Tumour oxygenation was also significantly improved. This study shows that p-PDGFR-beta-overexpressing tumours can be effectively treated with Imatinib to decrease tumour IFP. Importantly, this is the first study demonstrating that Imatinib treatment improves tumour oxygenation and downregulates tumour VEGF expression.