Technologies

Adult acute leukemia is an extremely serious disease, resulting in death for the majority of patients. Despite decades of intensive research, long-term cures are obtained for only approximately 30% of patients. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of treatment regimens that are more efficacious and less toxic to normal tissues.The laboratory of Dr. Jordan and his collaborators at the University of Kentucky are developing novel compounds based on the naturally occurring molecule parthenolide. Agents in this class (known as sesquiterpene lactones) have demonstrated utility for multiple pharmacological applications, but have never been fully developed for modern clinical use.Drugs of this nature function to eradicate leukemia cells in a unique fashion.Dr. Jordan has clearly demonstrated that parthenolide-based drugs can specifically target the cells that are typically not destroyed by standard chemotherapy, the so-calledleukemia stem cells.Studies over the past decade have shown that this relatively rare subpopulation of cells lie at the root of leukemic disease, and are typically highly resistant to conventional therapy. Thus, in order to achieve more effective clinical results, it is widely appreciated that therapies must target this population.