A New York cancer research centre is expanding its programme of lymphoma research in a bid to boost cancer prevention work.
Lymphoma is the fifth most common cause of cancer in the US and around 10,700 cases are diagnosed in the UK every year. It affects the tubes, organs and glands in the lymphatic system and requires range of treatment and disease management options dependent on the individual case.
Researchers at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center are investigating different therapies for the treatment of lymphoma.
Some 25 scientists work for the Lymphoid Development and Malignancy Program under the direction of lymphoma expert Dr Owen A O’Connor.
"By increasing the number and quality of treatment options for lymphoma patients, we are improving their chances for survival," Dr O’Connor said. "This is especially critical for patients who haven’t responded to standard therapies."
Among the treatments under development is PDX (pralatrexate), which imitates folic acid to allow it to penetrate T-cell lymphoma and trials have shown to be 54 per cent effective in patients for whom other treatments did not work.
