“I knew I wanted to do something special for that little girl,” said Linda Malkas of City of Hope in California, a leading cancer research center.
Cancer has a powerful new ‘enemy’… A 9-year-old girl with an unforgettable smile. Researchers have developed a drug capable of “killing” all solid cancerous tumors. The drug, which contains a molecule called AOH1996, “appears to annihilate all solid tumors” in preclinical research, while leaving healthy cells intact. AOH1996 is the culmination of two decades of research for City of Hope. The new drug works by targeting a protein called PCNA, or proliferating cell nuclear antigen.
The drug AOH1996 is named after Anna Olivia Healey, a cancer patient from Indiana who was born in 1996.I knew I wanted to do something special for that little girlLinda Malkas of City of Hope in California, a leading cancer research center, said according to The Post. “He died when he was only 9 years old from neuroblastoma».
Malkas met the family of Anna Olivia Healey shortly before their little girl died in 2005 after a difficult “battle” with cancer. Tneuroblastoma is a type of cancer which accounts for approximately 15% of pediatric cancers. It is most often diagnosed in children 1-2 years old, with most cases diagnosed before the age of 5 years. It is one of the most common types of cancer affecting the nervous system, with tumors developing in immature nerve cells in the adrenal glands (around the kidneys), neck, chest or spinal cord.
“I met Anna Olivia Healey’s father when she was in her final stages. He asked if I could do something about neuroblastoma and gave my lab a check for $25,000.” Linda Malkas reported. “That was the moment that changed my life“, she revealed herself.
“This medicine is an inhibitor of an antigen found on all cells, PCNA. It is a substance that binds DNA and absolutely controls DNA replication, as well as DNA damage repair. Our drug is like a blizzard, shutting down a major airline hub, disrupting all flights, but only on the “planes” carrying cancer cells“, explained the researcher. The drug is – currently – in a phase 1 clinical trial at City of Hope.
Little Anna Olivia Healey’s fatal battle with neuroblastoma was also the inspiration for ANNA Fund (Anna Needs Neuroblastoma Answers)a charity that has raised more than $400,000 for neuroblastoma research since 2002.
Source :Skai
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