Discoveries
Marine bacteria yield compound for multiple myeloma
The ocean floor may hold the key to a new treatment for a currently incurable form of cancer. In a series of laboratory tests, Dana-Farber scientists led by Dharminder Chauhan, PhD, have found that a compound derived from bottom-dwelling bacteria appears to be a potent killer of drug-resistant multiple myeloma cells, potentially with less toxicity than current treatments.
"The compound prevents the cells' protein-disposal systems – called proteasomes – from working properly, causing a buildup of damaged proteins that results in the cells' death," says Kenneth Anderson, MD, the paper's senior author. Known as NPI-0052, the compound is expected to be tested in a Phase I clinical trial beginning this spring, at first alone and then in combination with other treatments.
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow that causes production of vital red and white blood cells to plunge. Although relatively rare, it is the second most common type of blood cancer and accounts for 11,000 deaths annually in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
NPI-0052 was discovered by researchers at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego. Following lab studies in which the compound efficiently killed drug-resistant myeloma cells, Dana-Farber investigators and their colleagues tested it in mice implanted with human myeloma tumors. It was well-tolerated by the animals, prolonged their survival, and significantly reduced the rate of cancer recurrences.
"This is a laboratory advance that shows clinical promise," Chauhan says. "We think this is going to be the '2006 Model' of proteasome inhibitors."
