The drug AOH1996 is named after Anna Olivia Healey, a cancer patient born in 1996. “I knew I wanted to do something special for that little girl,” a researcher said.
Cancer has a powerful new enemy — and it is fueled by a 9-year-old girl with an unforgettable smile.
“She died when she was only 9 years old from neuroblastoma, a children’s cancer that affects only 600 kids in America each year.” The new drug works by targeting a protein called PCNA, or proliferating cell nuclear antigen. In its mutated form, PCNA helps cancerous tumors thrive and grow. Their AOH1996 drug is currently in a Phase 1 clinical trial at City of Hope. In previous tests, AOH1996 selectively killed cancer cells by successfully disrupting the cell reproductive cycle.
“Through awareness and monetary support by people like you, we will be able to pass that same love and concern on to other families in our situation,” he added. “No one has ever targeted PCNA as a therapeutic because it was viewed as ‘undruggable,'” said Long Gu, associate research professor at City of Hope and lead author of the study,“Now that we know the problem area and can inhibit it, we will dig deeper to understand the process to develop more personalized, targeted cancer medicines.”
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