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Daniel Vallera
Therapeutic Radiology
Brenda Weigel
Pediatrics Hematology/ Oncology
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Developing
new and improving existing drug therapies to enhance the care of
people with cancer is one of the primary goals of the University
of Minnesota Cancer Center. To be successful, this effort requires
collaboration between laboratory scientists and clinical physician-researchers.
Developing promising therapies in
the laboratory
Daniel Vallera, Ph.D., a basic science researcher with the University
of Minnesota Cancer Center, focuses on developing experimental drug
therapies for cancer patients. For the last five years, Vallera
has been working on biological drug development.
One of these developments is a new type of drug therapy called a
radiolabeled monoclonal antibody. The antibody is specifically engineered
to bind to a cancer cell in order to deliver a small dose of radiation.
Researchers hope that delivering the radiation directly to the cancer
cell will eradicate the cancer while leaving surrounding tissue
unharmed. Vallera and his colleagues intend to investigate this
drug as an alternative treatment for patients suffering from Acute
Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
ALL is a fast-growing cancer of the white blood cells. With ALL,
the bone marrow produces a number of abnormal cells that quickly
grow and crowd out the normal red blood cells, white blood cells,
and platelets needed by the body. Treatment plans for ALL generally
include chemotherapy, radiation, and/or a bone marrow transplant.
"There are not many alternative treatments available for ALL,"
says Vallera. "I'm interested in developing another option."
Transitioning from the laboratory
to testing in patients
After an investigational new drug such as the radiolabeled monoclonalantibody
is manufactured, a principal investigator leads a Phase I clinical
trial involving a select group of patients.
The first drug that Vallera developed entered a Phase I clinical
trial in the spring of 2005 led by Linda Burns, M.D., a University
hematology/oncologist and a cancer researcher who specializes in
treatment of adults with leukemia and other blood cancers.
In the fall of 2006, Brenda Weigel, M.D., who specializes in treatment
and research on childhood cancers, will be the principal investigator
in the clinical trial for a second ALL antibody.
This particular clinical trial will involve children whose cancer
has not responded to conventional therapies or for whom conventional
therapies have failed. Although ALL is most often diagnosed in children
from one year old to 10 years old, the first three eligible patients
for this clinical trial will be over 12 years of age. Subsequent
patients may be younger.
Weigel's job will be to explain the drug therapy to potential patients
and enroll patients who are the right fit for the clinical trial.
She will assess side effects and care for these patients throughout
the trial.
"We're hopeful this antibody will ultimately be a way of delivering
an effective leukemia therapy without a lot of side effects and
may help children with little to no other options," says Weigel.
Research into new and novel therapies, and testing their application
in patients, is essential to increasing the cure rates for cancer
and lessening the side effects of treatments. Together, Vallera
and Weigel are transitioning novel drug therapies from laboratory
research to patient care, bringing this new drug one important step
closer to possibly becoming another option that enhances care for
people with ALL.
Republished with permission from the Summer 2006 edition of News
from your Cancer Center, a publication of the Cancer
Center.
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