Phase 1 of a trial to test a novel pill that was seen to be effective during pre-clinical studies against recurring solid tumors from prostate, ovarian, breast, brain, skin, cervical and lung cancers is set to begin.
One of the biggest cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S., City of Hope, shared just last month that the very first patient to get this novel, promising cancer medicine is doing very well, while also currently recruiting new people for the study “who the therapies of tomorrow today.”
Linda Malkas, Ph.D, has been working on the research, as well as the subsequent discovery and development of AOH1996 for the last 20 years explains that the drug was named after Anna Olivia Healey. She was a young girl that was born 26 years ago, who sadly lost her life to cancer.
Dr. Malkas believed that proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), a protein that plays a vital role in the replication and repair of cells, could be a much less toxic cancer therapy ‘that targets mutated cancer cells while leaving normal cells alone.’ Moreover, the treatment has also shown in preclinical research that it has the ability to target PCNA and restrain the growth and spread of a larger range of human cancer cells.
She also explains that AOH1996 is not toxic to health cells, and that the treatment with this medicine can pause cell DNA synthesis, while inhibiting DNA repair, ‘leading to a type of cell death known as apoptosis in the cancer cells.’
A professor of molecular oncology, Dr. Malkas also said, “Imagine cancer as the water filling up a bathtub. Left unchecked, the tumors or water will eventually overflow and damage other parts of your home. The treatment my team at City of Hope created is akin to a watchful homeowner who shuts the water off—stopping the spread of tumors to other parts of the metaphorical house—and then drains the tub, eliminating the cancer.”
City of Hope’s Vincent Chung, M.D, and principal investigator and principal investigator in the clinical trial said, “By targeting PCNA, we are inhibiting the complex machinery to stop cellular growth and proliferation. This is a new way of trying to kill cancer cells or at least to slow it down.”
The trail is expected to continue testing the pill’s safety over the next two years, as well as its effectiveness and tolerated dosage of the pill. This medication is licensed by City of Hope to RLL, which is the biotechnology company co-founded by Malkas. At the moment, they are looking for more patients to join the trial.
As for eligible patients, these include adults with solid tumors that have not found the standard types of treatments effective. In addition, participating patients will also be asked to take the medication in pill form at least twice a day.
For those individuals that are interested to try the clinical trial, they can review their eligibility requirements at clinicaltrials.gov. If they think they’re eligible, they can also call 626-218-1133, or they can also visit the City of Hope’s clinical trials webpage.
Malkas also shared that there are other targeted therapies – like the checkpoint inhibitors – which inhibit the growth and spread of cancer, have also helped many cancer patients. She adds that maybe one day, AOH1996, will be a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved inhibitor which could be used in combination with other existing therapies to ‘both enhance cancer-killing effects as well as decrease side effects related to lifesaving cancer treatments.’
Through the experts, infrastructure, and support of City of Hope, Malkas was also able to commercialize her basic research and manufacture of medicine, which is how she managed to move her amazing laboratory discovery into its clinical trial stage in the Los Angeles area, giving millions of cancer patients around the world new hope.
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