Neuroblastoma treatment

Teniposide, a topoisomerase II inhibitor, is administered as an infusion over 30 to 60 minutes to prevent hypotension. The pharmacokinetics are described by a three-compartment model, with an a half-life of 0.75 hours, a (5 half-life of 4 hours, and a terminal half-life of 20 hours. Considerable variability in clearance of teniposide in children has been reported.17 Teniposide has shown activity in the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia, neuroblastoma, and non-Hodgkin s lymphoma. Side effects include myelosuppression, nausea, vomiting, mucositis, and venous irritation. Hypersensitivity reactions may be life-threatening. 

Humanized and chimerized MAbs have been developed for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, renal cell carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, breast cancer, melanoma, and neuroblastoma [117,119,120,123,124]. Patients with relapsed or refractory myeloid leukaemias that have been treated with HuM95, did not develop significant HAMA responses [59]. 

In human case reports, chlordane exposure has been linked to neuroblastoma, aplastic anemia, and acute leukemia, but only circumstantially. In a 1987 report, 25 new cases of blood dyscrasia, including leukemias, production defects, and thrombocytopenic purpura (generally after home termite treatment with chlordane/heptachlor), were reported. The authors noted the rarity of many of the conditions and, hence, the difficulty of finding statistically significant results. 

Neuron-specific enolase (NSE). NSE is useful for monitoring the outcome of treatment and the course of disease in patients with neuroendocrine tumors, in particular small cell lung cancer and neuroblastoma. The test is not suitable as a screening or adjunct to diagnosis because of low clinical sensitivity and specificity. Elevated serum NSE concentrations are found in patients with ... 

Cyclophosphamide is a component of CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil) and other drug combinations used in the treatment of breast cancer. Cyclophosphamide in combination may produce complete remissions in some patients with ovarian cancer and oat cell (small cell) lung cancer. Other tumors in which benehcial results have been reported include non-oat cell lung cancers, various sarcomas, neuroblastoma, and carcinomas of the testes, cervix, and bladder. Cyclophosphamide also can be employed as an alternative to azathioprine in suppressing immunological rejection of transplant organs. 

Doxorubicin is one of the most effective agents used in the treatment of carcinomas of the breast, ovary, endometrium, bladder, and thyroid and in oat cell cancer of the lung. It is included in several combination regimens for diffuse lymphomas and Hodgkin s disease. Doxorubicin can be used as an alternative to daunorubicin in acute leukemias and is useful in Ewing s sarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, soft-tissue sarcomas, and neuroblastoma. Some activity has been reported in non-oat cell lung cancer, multiple myeloma, and adenocarcinomas of the stomach, prostate, and testis. 

These compounds block N-type calcium channels in human neuroblastoma IMR-32 cells. PD-151307 (IC50 = 0.22 pM) shows about 40-fold selectivity for N- over L-type calcium channels (IC50 = 9.1 pM in GH3 cells). These compounds may also be potentially useful in the treatment of cerebral ischemia and chronic intractable pain. 

Mandel M, Toren A, Rechavi G, Dor J, Ben-Bassat I, Neumann Y. Hormonal treatment in pregnancy a possible risk factor for neuroblastoma. Med Pediatr Oncol 1994 23(2) 133-5. 

Flupirtine was the first compound identified to affect KCNQ channels and has been used in man to treat pain. However, only recently has this drug been shown to be an activator of Kv7 channels (see Munro and Dalby-Brown 2007). The clinical efficacy of flupirtine was originally postulated to occur through receptor-dependent mechanisms, but as noted by Munro and Dalby-Brown (2007) it is likely that Kv7 channel activation occurs at clinically relevant exposure levels. Retigabine, a flupirtine analog, is currently in clinical trials for the treatment of epilepsy and pain and has been the most widely used tool to explore both the in vitro and in vivo effects of Kv7 activation. This compound was initially shown to increase K+ channel activity in a neuroblastoma cell line (Rundfeldt 1997 see also Rundfeldt 1999) and subsequently was... 

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