ANI
18 Mar 2023, 22:26 GMT+10
Washington [US], March 18 (ANI): A new study shows a diet high in vitamin A or its analogues might assist adolescents and young adults with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in lowering their risk of painful pancreatic inflammation during chemotherapy.
Details about this potential dietary solution to prevent a potentially life-threatening adverse event were published on March 15 in Science Translational Medicine. The research team was led by Sohail Husain, MD, chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at Stanford University and Anil Goud Jegga, DVM, MRes, a computational biologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
For people with ALL, treatment with the enzyme asparaginase helps starve cancer cells by reducing the amount of asparagine circulating in the blood, which the cancer cells need but cannot make themselves. The medication, often used in combination with other chemotherapies, is given via injection into a vein, muscle, or under the skin, the study said.
However, an estimated 2% to 10% of asparaginase users develop inflammation of the pancreas in reaction to asparaginase treatment. For a third of these people, the symptoms can be severe.
Jegga and colleagues developed predictive analytics using over 100 million data points encompassing gene expression data, small-molecule data, and electronic health records to understand more of the mechanisms driving asparaginase-associated pancreatitis (AAP) and identify potential interventions to prevent or mitigate AAP.
First, they analyzed massive amounts of gene expression data to reveal that gene activity associated with asparaginase or pancreatitis might be reversed by retinoids (vitamin A and its analogs). The team found more supporting evidence by "mining" millions of of electronic health records from the TriNetX database and the U.S. Federal Drug Administration Adverse Events Reporting System.
This number crunching and predictive analytics work included use of the AERSMine software developed at Cincinnati Children's by Mayur Sarangdhar, PhD, MRes, and colleagues. The research team also studied data from mice experiments and compared plasma samples from people with ALL who developed pancreatitis and those who did not.
Ultimately, the team established two sets of human "real-world" experiences. They found that only 1.4% of patients treated with asparaginase developed pancreatitis when they were also taking vitamin A in contrast to 3.4% of patients who did not. Concomitant use of vitamin A correlated with a 60% reduction in the risk of AAP.
Lower amounts of dietary vitamin A correlated with increased risk and severity of AAP.
"This study demonstrates the potential of mining 'real-world' data to identify therapy modifiers for improving patient outcomes. In cases where a primary drug induces toxicity but is critical to therapy, such as asparaginase, therapy modifiers, such as vitamin A and its analogs, may be of immediate relevance to patients on asparaginase and 'at-risk' for AAP," says Sarangdhar, a co-first author of the study.
Says Jegga: "Our study highlights the power of heterogeneous data integration and analysis in translational research. By leveraging existing 'omics and patient-centric data and a systems approach, we were able to identify new insights into the development of AAP and potential interventions to prevent or mitigate this side effect."Next stepsIn some ways, learnings from this study could be applied immediately to patient care. However, more clinical research is needed to establish how much vitamin A would be needed to protect ALL patients from pancreatitis; and whether a protective level can be achieved by diet or via supplements. In fact, target vitamin levels may need to vary according to individual differences in metabolism. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Cleveland Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Cleveland Star.
More InformationTORONTO, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced late on June 29 that trade negotiations with the U.S. have recommenced...
Vancouver, Canada: A high-stakes legal showdown is brewing in the world of athleisure. Lululemon, the Canadian brand known for its...
LONDON, U.K.: British oil giant Shell has denied reports that it is in talks to acquire rival oil company BP. The Wall Street Journal...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stock markets closed firmly in positive territory to start the week Monday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he was halting trade discussions with Canada due to its decision...
LONDON, U.K.: A little-known investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates has emerged as the most prominent public backer of U.S....
ABU DHABI, 19th June, 2025 (WAM) -- Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has become the first and only research hospital in the UAE to receive...
ABU DHABI, 17th June, 2025 (WAM) -- Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the M42 group, has successfully introduced continuous infusion...
ABU DHABI, 9th June, 2025 (WAM) -- Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has successfully performed the UAE's first robotic cytoreductive surgery...
ABU DHABI,16th May, 2025 (WAM) - Oracle Health, Cleveland Clinic, and G42 today announced a strategic partnership to develop a groundbreaking...
ABU DHABI, 6th May, 2025 (WAM) -- PureHealth and its subsidiary SEHA have partnered with the number one US children's hospital, Cincinnati...
Argentinian composer Lalo Schifrin, the genre-blending film and television composer behind the Mission: Impossible, Bullitt, and Cool...