Reducing Osteoporosis in Children with Cancer
August 15, 2007
ADELAIDE, Australia, Aug. 13, 2007 (Source: Bone Growth Foundation Research Lab)—Supplementing chemotherapy with folinic acid is likely to reduce the likelihood of children with cancer developing osteoporosis and suffering bone fractures, according to a medical researcher based in Adelaide, Australia.
Dr. Cory Xian, associate professor and director of the Bone Growth Foundation (BGF) Research Lab, says that while the study is still at the experimental stage, preliminary results are encouraging.
Folinic acid is similar to folic acid but more potent, Xian explains, and is already used to reduce toxicities in soft tissues caused by methotrexate chemotherapy. However, he believes it could help childhood cancer survivors' bones to grow. "Children undergoing chemotherapy with this drug (methotrexate) are 39 per cent more likely to have a bone fracture than another child," he says.
While clinical trials are about two years away, the research has found that by including folinic acid in the treatment the bone-growth plate is protected, retaining its ability to generate new bone, says Xian.
Research carried out at the BGF Research Lab is funded by the Bone Growth Foundation, external competitive grants and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Department of Orthopaedic Surgery research-operation fund. The research aims to elucidate mechanisms of normal bone growth and bone-growth disorders and to develop biological treatments to induce growth-plate cartilage repair. The development of supplementary treatment to preserve normal bone growth in children during cancer chemotherapy is a primary focus of its research.
To learn more, go to the Web site.
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August 15, 2007
ADELAIDE, Australia, Aug. 13, 2007 (Source: Bone Growth Foundation Research Lab)—Supplementing chemotherapy with folinic acid is likely to reduce the likelihood of children with cancer developing osteoporosis and suffering bone fractures, according to a medical researcher based in Adelaide, Australia.Dr. Cory Xian, associate professor and director of the Bone Growth Foundation (BGF) Research Lab, says that while the study is still at the experimental stage, preliminary results are encouraging.
Folinic acid is similar to folic acid but more potent, Xian explains, and is already used to reduce toxicities in soft tissues caused by methotrexate chemotherapy. However, he believes it could help childhood cancer survivors' bones to grow. "Children undergoing chemotherapy with this drug (methotrexate) are 39 per cent more likely to have a bone fracture than another child," he says.
While clinical trials are about two years away, the research has found that by including folinic acid in the treatment the bone-growth plate is protected, retaining its ability to generate new bone, says Xian.
Research carried out at the BGF Research Lab is funded by the Bone Growth Foundation, external competitive grants and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Department of Orthopaedic Surgery research-operation fund. The research aims to elucidate mechanisms of normal bone growth and bone-growth disorders and to develop biological treatments to induce growth-plate cartilage repair. The development of supplementary treatment to preserve normal bone growth in children during cancer chemotherapy is a primary focus of its research.
To learn more, go to the Web site.
<< Back
