A new program using CAR T-cell therapy is underway at Calgary s Tom Baker Cancer Centre (TBCC) and is changing the way doctors approach the treatment of certain blood cancers. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy uses a person s own immune cells to fight cancer and will now be offered in Alberta to patients with specific kinds of leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. CAR T-cell therapy has changed the way we approach the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma, said Dr. Mona Shafey, MD, FRCPC, hematologist and director of the Alberta Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. These patients have a very poor prognosis and often die of their disease. The availability of Yescarta gives these patients access to a potentially life-saving treatment.
HONOURABLE MR. MCIVER
68/2021
TRAFFIC SAFETY ACT (section 22) - Rescinds the appointment of Richard John Hachigian as a member of the Alberta Transportation Safety Board.
HONOURABLE MR. NICOLAIDES
69/2021
POST-SECONDARY LEARNING ACT (sections 44 and 56) - Appoints Kristine Cassie as a member of The Board of Governors of Lethbridge College for a further term to expire on March 31, 2022; appoints Nolan Johnson, Janene Moch and Calvin Scott as members of The Board of Governors of Lethbridge College each for a term to expire on March 31, 2022.
HONOURABLE MR. SHANDRO
EDMONTON The Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation (EOCF) will be hosting two special nights of its online 50/50 draw during the next two Oilers games. Wednesday s draw will honour Walter Gretzky s legacy with net proceeds benefiting Northern Alberta Food Banks. The role food banks play in feeding the most vulnerable was of particular importance to Walter, an Edmonton Oilers news release read. Edmonton s Food Bank is profoundly grateful to the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation for choosing us as one of the 50/50 recipients of this Wednesday s game, Edmonton s Food Bank executive director Marjorie Bencz said in the news release. The fact that we are honouring Walter Gretzky s wishes makes this gesture even more poignant, as he cared very deeply about giving back to the community.
New drug target valid for breast cancer as well as lymphoma
One more piece of the puzzle has fallen into place behind a new drug whose anti-cancer potential was developed at the University of Alberta and is set to begin human trials this year, thanks to newly published research.
The results provide more justification and rationale for starting the clinical trial in May. It s another exciting stepping stone to finding out if this is going to be a new cancer treatment.
John Mackey, First Author, Professor and Director of Oncology Clinical Trials, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta
The drug PCLX-001 is designed to selectively kill cancer cells by targeting enzymes involved in myristoylation, a process key to the cell signaling system that is often defective in cancer cells. The molecule was originally developed by the University of Dundee as a treatment for African sleeping sickness. U of A cell biologist Luc Berthiaume was the first to realize it could work aga
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IMAGE: University of Alberta oncology researcher John Mackey (left) and cell biologist Luc Berthiaume are collaborators on new research showing that PCLX-001, an anti-cancer drug set to begin clinical trials this. view more
Credit: University of Alberta
One more piece of the puzzle has fallen into place behind a new drug whose anti-cancer potential was developed at the University of Alberta and is set to begin human trials this year, thanks to newly published research. The results provide more justification and rationale for starting the clinical trial in May, said first author John Mackey, professor and director of oncology clinical trials in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. It s another exciting stepping stone to finding out if this is going to be a new cancer treatment.