PCI-32765, produced by Pharmacyclics of Sunnyvale, Calif., inhibits Btk. Preclinical studies showed PCI-32765 arrested cancer cell growth and caused cancer cell death.

"This is the Yin and Yang of two diseases," said Dr. Tibes. In one there is not enough Btk; in the other, too much. "We are exploiting a natural occurring phenomenon, an enzyme that is turned around in cancer, and now we have a drug against it."

Dr. Tibes, the principal investigator for the clinical trial, said PCI-32765 is at the frontier of research and offers a new therapy option for patients with advanced lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Patients with a variety of lymphomas can participate in the clinical trial, including those with aggressive diffuse large B-Cell and mantle cell lymphoma, as well as patients with follicular lymphoma.

"Perhaps there is a genetic context under which certain patients may be more responsive. We want to find those patients and explore the possibilities for their benefit in this ongoing study,'' said Dr. Ramesh K. Ramanathan, research medical director.

Source: The Translational Genomics Research Institute