Drug May be Helpful in Relapsed, Aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

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Mayo Clinic Cancer Center -- Working on the tough cases

Promising results for patients with aggressive, recurrent NHL using

tipifarnib

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, in collaboration with

researchers from the University of Iowa, today presented results of

a Phase II clinical study indicating that an oral drug, tipifarnib,

can stall or reverse disease progression for patients with relapsed

aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Lead researcher and Mayo Clinic

hematologist Witzig, M.D., discussed the findings at the 2006

American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in Orlando.

" Patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma who relapse after

conventional therapy or stem cell replacement traditionally have a

poor prognosis, " says Dr. Witzig. " We are hoping to find new

approaches that are well-tolerated that will help this group of

people experience a longer and higher-quality life. These

preliminary results seem to indicate that tipifarnib has anti-tumor

activity and is well-tolerated. "

Dr. Witzig's team treated patients with relapsed diffuse large,

follicular grade III or mantle cell lymphoma with 300 milligrams of

oral tipifarnib twice daily for 21 out of 28 days, restarting the

cycle every four weeks until disease progression. Of the 38 patients

who were evaluated, 18 percent had partial response, resulting in a

reduction of cancerous cells, and 21 percent had stable disease.

Thirty-three percent required dose reduction due to myelosuppression

(reduction in the bone marrow's ability to produce blood cells).

" We were pleased with the results of this study because it

demonstrates that tipifarnib has some single-agent activity in this

aggressive tumor group, " says Dr. Witzig. " Now we need to combine it

with other effective agents to further enhance the activity for our

patients. "

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system that

affects nearly 60,000 new patients each year in the United States.

It starts with genetic errors in the lymph nodes or other lymphoid

tissues (such as the bone marrow, spleen or thymus) and spreads.