New agent inhbits leukemia cells

RICHMOND, Va., Oct 21, 2005 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center has discovered a new mechanism for a pharmacological agent treating cancer cells.

The kinase inhibitor BAY 43-9006, a new agent known to induce tumor cell death, is currently in clinical trials in patients.

"This agent was originally designed to inhibit the Raf-1 pathway, which is frequently mutated in many types of cancers, including leukemia," said Dr. Steven Grant. "We were surprised to find that the killing effects of Bay 43-9006 in human leukemia cells had very little to do with inhibition of the Raf-1 pathway."

The findings are published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

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