Study Shows Brief Inhibition of Cancer Cells is Effective

A new study, published in the December issue of the journal entitled Cancer Cell, proves brief inhibition of cancer targets may be more effective due to potency.

This research may help scientists develop more effective targeted cancer therapies and make these therapies easier to administer.

In the past scientists used only kinase inhibitors that provided continuous inhibition of their targets. They believed these to be the only effective means for achieving the desired effects in the patient. Kinase inhibitors that targeted the BCR-ABL kinase, which is linked to acute myeloid leukemia, provided continuous kinase inhibition and were given on a daily dosing schedule. Most researchers abandoned studies of other inhibitors because they did not believe they could possibly provide the same type of results.

In a new study, however, a different type of kinase inhibitor is being used. Dasatinib, this new generation of treatment provides potent kinase inhibition with a shorter duration.

"The clinical development of dasatinib initially proceeded using a twice-daily dosing schedule with the goal of providing continuous target coverage," explains Dr. Neil P. Shah, lead author of the study.

Dr. Shah, from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine also authored an additional study that showed that dasatinib was effective when given once daily and that the side effects were greatly reduced.

Dr. Shah and his team of researchers hoped to explain the various results to cancer cells depending on the length of kinase inhibition. As expected, the results showed positive outcomes when BCR-ABL kinase activity is prohibited. The dasatinib dosage of one time daily provided these results due to its potency.

These finding may also prove helpful in fighting other cancers, as the transient kinase inhibition proved effective.

"Our results provide compelling rationale for the clinical development of compounds capable of achieving potent kinase inhibition, irrespective of biological half-life," Dr. Shah was quoted as saying. "It should be possible to optimize individual patient doses, balancing target inhibition with toxicity, in pursuit of the goal of rational personalized cancer medicine."

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