Diana Azzam, a researcher in Azzam’s lab at Florida International University, and her clinical study participant Logan Jenner.Image source: Florida International University
Researchers have developed a functional precision medicine approach to cancer by combining genetic testing with a new method of testing single drugs on tumor samples.Clinical study results were published in Natural medicine.
This comprehensive approach, developed by Florida International University cancer researcher Diana Azzam and first used in collaboration with Maggie Fader, MD, of First Ascent Biomedical and the Helen & Jacob Shaham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, has been successfully used to guide the treatment of patients with recurrent pediatric cancers in Miami Nicklaus Children’s Hospital Research Institute.
As a result, 83% of the children improved, including 8-year-old Logan Jenner, whose relapsed leukemia was successfully treated with Azam’s new guided approach.
“The results are exciting because recurring cancers are more difficult to treat,” said Azzam, assistant professor of environmental health sciences in Florida International University’s Robert S. Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work. “It’s exciting to see that 83 percent of patients improved. Incredible hope “This could be the way we turn cancer into a manageable disease. “
According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 2 million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer each year. Nearly 30% (more than 600,000 people) are expected to die.
Breakthrough methods
The approach pioneered by Azzam offers several advantages over existing precision medicine processes, including faster results and more treatment options for doctors.
Azam’s approach involves taking blood or tumor samples and enriching and processing cancer cells in the laboratory in a manner very similar to how cancer cells normally grow in the body. Cancers are then exposed to more than 120 FDA-approved drugs, including cancer and non-cancer drugs. These drugs can also be tested in various combinations recommended by the clinical team. The best cancer buster has ever appeared. The entire process takes about a week.
“The Azzam Laboratory’s approach eliminates the guesswork and provides a list of the most effective drugs available to oncologists,” said Toms R. Guilarte, dean of the Stempel Institute and one of the book’s authors. natural medicine article. “It accelerates our understanding of which cancer treatments work best for patients and their specific needs.”
Logan’s Story
At the age of 3, Logan Jenner was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia. He underwent chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. The cancer returned 14 months later.
Fader, Logan’s oncologist and a co-investigator on the study, enrolled him in the clinical trial.
“What’s unique is that the results for the best treatment options can be obtained easily and quickly, so we can act quickly,” said Fader, who is employed by KIDZ Medical Services and cares for patients at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. “This is important because we are talking about a child with cancer who is getting progressively worse.”
Azam’s test results revealed which combination of drugs might be effective against Logan. Equally valuable, the results suggest that idarubicin, known to cause cardiotoxicity at very high doses, can be discontinued without compromising treatment efficacy. Thirty-three days after starting treatment guided by Azam’s results, Logan was in remission, down from 150 days since his last remission. Two years later, Logan is still cancer-free.
The trial provided recommendations for 19 participating patients. Six people received Azzam Outcomes-guided treatment, and five, including Logan, showed improved survival outcomes over the course of the study.
what’s next
This study is particularly important because most of the participants were from minority populations, who may respond differently to FDA-approved drugs. Azzam also leads a research project as part of the FIU’s Minority Institutional Research Center aimed at reducing health disparities among childhood cancer patients.
Larger clinical trials of personalized cancer treatments in children and adults are underway.
Azzam’s lab will be the first large, federally certified laboratory in Florida to specialize in functional cancer drug testing.
More information:
Arlet M. Acanda De La Rocha et al., Feasibility of Functional Precision Medicine to Guide Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Pediatric Cancers, natural medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-02848-4
Provided by Florida International University
citation: New treatment shows promise in refractory pediatric cancer (2024, April 11), Retrieved April 21, 2024, from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-04-treatment-approach – hard-pediatric-cancers.html
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