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Monday, May 24, 2004
Dramatic progress has been made in reducing the number of children
dying from leukaemia since the 1960s-70s - and the numbers are likely
to fall still further as innovative medicines currently being developed
become available, according to a report published today.
Thanks to the coming together of several different areas of research,
new medicines are starting to reach patients with various types
of leukaemia after a 20-year period when the rate of progress was
comparatively slow. Major progress is also being made in some chronic
adult leukaemias.
As a result, today childhood leukaemias can often be cured and quality
of life greatly improved by the use of medicines and bone marrow
transplantation, the report, Target Leukaemia, published by the
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), says.
"While the number of children suffering from leukaemia is comparatively
small, it is especially distressing," said Dr Richard Tiner,
the ABPI's Director of Medicine. "Thus - although there is
some way to go - it is particularly gratifying that research carried
out by the UK-based pharmaceutical industry and others has been
so successful at extending and saving lives.
"The fact that this is an area of research where there is still
so much activity going on gives us all great hope that the dramatic
improvements already made can be continued, yet more children's
lives saved in the future, and this progress extended to adult leukaemias.
"The industry spends nearly £10 million a day on the
search for new medicines, and it is every researcher's dream to
be able to help people, but children in particular, in this way."
Target Leukaemia shows that 10-year survival from all kinds of childhood
cancer has risen from just over 20 per cent in the mid-1960s to
about 70 per cent today. In 1960, children with acute lymphoblastic
leukaemia (ALL), the most common form of leukaemia in children,
lived for around four months after diagnosis. Today, more than 80
per cent of children with ALL will be alive at five years after
diagnosis and treatment.
"These advances are the direct result of new medicines, more
intensive combinations and an increased use of bone marrow transplantation,"
the booklet says.
Following a comparatively fallow period for research into the disease,
several areas of research began to converge during the 1980s:
Molecular biology - giving rise to the science of genetic engineering.
- Immunology - its role in cancer surveillance became clearer,
and helped to develop many immuno-active molecules.
- Cell signalling technology - revealing how cell growth is regulated
by chemical signals operating inside dividing cells and externally
between neighbouring cells.
- The human genome project - pinpointing many genes that may cause
increased risk of certain cancers.
Thanks to progress in these and other areas, researchers are gradually
unravelling the underlying errors that cause the various types of
blood cancer. "As a result, there is now a greater range and
flexibility in leukaemia medicines than ever before," Target
Leukaemia says.
Some of the differing types of medicines include monoclonal antibodies
- the "magic bullets" that are designed to seek out and
destroy cancer cells. They can do this by triggering the body's
own immune system; by delivering agents such as radioactive isotopes
or cytotoxics directly to the cells; or by triggering internal mechanisms
to kill the cells.
Cancer cell markers are also the basis for vaccine development and
- although the booklet stresses that the success of this approach
has not yet been proven - first indications are "a cause of
cautious optimism".
In fact, Target Leukaemia points out that such progress has been
and is being made that this can fairly be described as an era of
innovation and discovery. "There has been a lot of progress
in recent years and we can look forward with optimism to the next
decade, when we may witness a revolution in cancer treatment and
major advances in the fight against leukaemia," the report
says.
Target Leukaemia has been written for the ABPI by the well-respected
medical writer, Dr Mike Hall. It is available free from the ABPI
Publications Department, 12 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY or email
publications@abpi.org.uk.
It can also be viewed on the ABPI website, www.abpi.org.uk
Click here to view a copy of Target Leukaemia in PDF
format
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A copy of Target Leukaemia is attached to this press release. It
is the 16th in a series of guides charting the pharmaceutical industry's
progress in major disease areas. Copies of the other guides, also
free, are available from the address above. Those still in print
include: Target Pain, Target Cancer, Target Crohn's & Colitis,
Target Epilepsy, Target Osteoporosis, Target Rheumatoid Arthritis,
Target Diabetes, Target Stroke, Target Migraine, Target Prostate,
Target Alzheimer's and Target Schizophrenia, Target Skin.
For further information, please contact:
Crispin Slee 020 7747 1410 (office)
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