Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Seminar on TPI-287 in Neuroblastoma and Medulloblastoma

I have been a complete failure. I have neglected to mention this in my diary until now. Tomorrow at 12 PM CST I will be conducting an online seminar for the Neuroblastoma Foundation on the recently opened "Phase 1 Trial of TPI 287 as a Single Agent and in Combination with Temozolomide in Patients with Refractory or Recurrent Neuroblastoma or Medulloblastoma." The online seminar is specifically for parents and caregivers of children with neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma who are interested in finding out more information regarding this trial. The seminar is free and you can sign up here:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/601120458

We originally came up with the idea of this online seminar while I was in Washington D.C. at the PRPMP meeting. I sat on several panels with Dr. Giselle Sholler. We shared conflicts of interest on several of the studies and, therefore, found ourselves outside in the hallway discussing various trials. After talking about this study with her, I thought it would be helpful to provide this information to other parents. During the seminar Dr. Sholler will be covering information about the preclinical data supporting her work that led to this trial. She will also cover information regarding the trial and its eligibility requirements. In addition, we will try to tease out information related to who this study may be most appropriate for and when you might consider it for your child. Finally, I also hope to have some parents on hand whose children have gone through this study to give us an idea of what can be expected.

The seminar ought to be very interesting and it is covering a topic that is important to neuroblastoma - drug resistance. TPI 287 is a proprietary next-generation taxane. The compound was designed to overcome multiple drug resistance in solid tumors that are innately resistant to taxane therapy (like neuroblastoma) or have become resistant to taxanes following exposure to chemotherapy drugs. In preclinical testing, TPI 287 demonstrated the ability to inhibit tumor cell growth in a number of in vitro cell lines and has shown inhibition of human tumor growth in certain animal xenograft models when tested against standard comparative agents. All in all, it is another agent that offers some hope in a world that can sometimes be lacking for those with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma.

I genuinely hope to see you online tomorrow and I apologize for the late notice in publishing the information in my blog.

My timing may be bad but my purpose is still in the right place.

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