Cancer drug combination shows promise for patients resistant to standard treatments

A promising drug combination could help people with leukemia who don’t respond to traditional treatments, according to new research.

A team from Oregon Health and Science University made the discovery by analyzing samples from more than 300 patients with acute myeloid leukemia, or AML.

Data shows that more than 20,000 Americans are diagnosed with AML each year, making it one of the most common types of leukemia. It is also one of the most aggressive.

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The researchers combined venetoclax, a drug commonly used to treat leukemia, with palbociclib, which is used for breast cancer. This resulted in significantly stronger and longer lasting anti-leukemia activity than venetoclax alone.

The findings were confirmed in human tissue samples and in mouse models carrying human leukemia cells.

“The data show that this drug regimen may be especially effective in patients whose tumors exhibit characteristics that cause resistance to the current standard of care, first-line therapies,” Jeffrey Tyner, a professor of cell, developmental and cancer biology at Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine and the Knight Cancer Institute, told News Digital.

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Tyner, who is part of the research team, said initial testing explored a wide range of drug combinations and did not start with any specific “favorites.”

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Among all combinations tested, including current standard of care regimens, the combination of leukemia and breast cancer drugs showed the most promising results.

“That really motivated us to dig deeper into why it works so well and why it appears to overcome the resistance seen with current therapy,” Melissa Stewart, a research assistant professor at OHSU and lead author of the study, said in a news release.

The study found that AML cells exposed only to venetoclax were able to adapt by increasing protein production. However, adding palbociclib blocked this adaptation and impeded the cancer cells’ ability to survive.

“In this model, venetoclax alone did not prolong survival at all, as we would expect based on genetics,” Stewart said. “But with the combination, most of the mice lived between 11 and 12 months. In fact, one mouse was still alive when the study ended.”

“Unfortunately, almost everyone will end up with drug resistance.”

The study helps explain the biological reasons behind the improved results of this new drug combination, according to Tyner, and lays the groundwork for clinical trials with real patients.

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The drug, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2019, is often combined with azacitidine, a different cancer drug. Treatment resistance, even with this duo, remained almost universal.

“Unfortunately, almost everyone will eventually develop drug resistance,” Tyner said in the news release.

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“This regimen has improved initial response rates and quality of life, but the five-year survival rate for acute myeloid leukemia is still only about 25 to 40 percent. We have a lot of work to do,” he added.

While the data strongly suggests that this new drug should be tested in clinical trials, the team says it does not yet have data on clinical activity in AML patients, other than some reported anecdotal cases.

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“So the biggest limitation is also the next step we want to take: testing this new drug combination in clinical trials,” Tyner said.

News Digital reached out to the makers of venetoclax for comment.