Thursday 4 July 2002
The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden Hospital will report today on one of a new generation of drugs which has shown early promise in the treatment of advanced breast cancer.
The drug R115777, known as Zarnestra*, is a new form of therapy which blocks signals in cancer cells. The first trial of the drug in breast cancer has recently been completed and results showed that it benefited up to a quarter of patients resistant to conventional treatment.
Institute of Cancer Research scientists identified a series of key proteins that transmit signals from the surface of cells toward the nucleus. They found that some of these proteins function abnormally and play a part in their growth and behaviour of cancer cells. These discoveries contributed to the development of Zarnestra which appears to inhibit the function of these proteins and so stops tumours from growing.
Institute scientists have shown that the drug, previously found to be effective in the laboratory in several other cancers, can also inhibit the growth of breast tumours.
Dr Stephen Johnston of The Royal Marsden Hospital and The Institute of Cancer Research comments: "This is one of several new drugs which have been designed to target key enzymes in breast cancer. It is very early days, but our hope for patients is that they will add further benefit to our current conventional treatments."
In a UK trial led by The Royal Marsden earlier this year, 76 patients with advanced breast cancer were treated with Zarnestra given in tablet form for three weeks every month. Most of the patients had already received several previous hormone and chemotherapy treatments for their cancer. Up to a quarter of the patients either had shrinkage or prolonged control of their tumour and most experienced very few side effects from the drug.
More recent laboratory experiments at The Institute and The Royal Marsden have identified that the drug given in combination with hormone treatment may be more effective in breast cancer tumours than either treatment alone. A new breast cancer trial is now planned combining it with hormone therapy.
Several more of these inhibitor drugs will be examined in clinical trials at The Royal Marsden Hospital and The Institute over the next few years. If the early findings are confirmed by further study then these drugs will be rapidly integrated into treatment options for breast cancer patients over the next few years.
Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, Professor Peter Rigby, says: "We are now seeing a new generation of anti-cancer drugs which act against molecular targets defined by many years of laboratory research. This clearly illustrates the benefit of having a comprehensive cancer centre, like that formed by The Institute and the Royal Marsden, which is the largest in Europe. By having scientists and clinicians working closely together we can speed up the development of new treatments."
Cally Palmer, Chief Executive of the Royal Marsden added: "The initial results of this research are extremely encouraging. Further study into the effects of these new drugs will be a high priority in our breast cancer research and treatment over the next five to ten years."
Dr Stephen Johnston and a patient case study are available for interview.
Please contact:
The Institute of Cancer Research press office, tel: 020 7970 6056
The Royal Marsden press office, tel: 020 7808 2383
*Zarnestra is a drug being developed by Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, for the treatment of cancer.
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Notes to editors
- The Institute of Cancer Research is a centre of excellence with some of the world's leading scientists working on cutting edge research. It works in a unique partnership with The Royal Marsden Hospital, which enables scientific discoveries to be translated quickly into patient care.
- The Royal Marsden is a specialist hospital dedicated to the treatment and care of patients with cancer and to education about cancer and its prevention. It is the world's oldest hospital dedicated completely to the treatment and study of the disease and was named as one of six centres of excellence in the NHS Plan. Over 30,000 patients attend its sites in Chelsea and Sutton each year from all over the UK and abroad.
- Breakthrough Breast Cancer - The Institute, in partnership with Breakthrough Breast Cancer, is home to the UK's first dedicated breast cancer research centre, "The Breakthrough Toby Robins Breast Cancer Research Centre."
- Ortho Biotech is a company dedicated to bio-pharmaceuticals, part of Johnson & Johnson one of the largest healthcare companies in the world, and a division of Janssen-Cilag Ltd in the UK
- The drug R115777 (ZARNESTRATM) is a farnesyl transferase inhibitor, a new generation of signal transduction inhibitors (STIs), and is being developed for cancer treatment by Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development.
Please note:
Unfortunately the press office are unable to answer queries from the general public. For general cancer information please refer to The Institute's cancer information page.