Clearly, the whole project was by no means small and the workflow, while simple-sounding, involved many hours of hard work and perhaps sleepless nights. The conclusion however, was no doubt gratifying to this group of researchers. Their findings firmly conclude that PDE3A and PDE3B are frequently expressed in GISTs and that anagrelide has anti-tumor activity as proven in both in vitro and in vivo models. This forms the scientific base behind inventing a novel anti-GIST product with improved bioavailability and efficacy for patients with advanced GIST.
*Glivec® is a registered trademark of Novartis AG, CH.
References
[1] Anagrelide for gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Olli-Pekka Pulkka, Yemarshet K Gebreyohannes, Agnieszka Wozniak, John Patrick Mpindi, Olli Tynninen, Katherine Icay, Alejandra Cervera, Salla Keskitalo, Astrid Murumägi, Evgeny Kulesskiy, Maria Laaksonen, Krister Wennerberg, Markku Varjosalo, Pirjo M Laakkonen, Rainer Lehtonen, Sampsa Hautaniemi, Olli Kallioniemi, Patrick Schöffski, Harri Sihto and Heikki Joensuu. Clin Cancer Res December 7 2018 (DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-0815)