World Lymphoma Awareness Day 2020

Lymphoma is a blood cancer caused by the rampant growth of white blood cells (lymphocytes). This commonly occurring malignant disease may manifest itself in over 80 subtypes, each one with specific natural history and symptoms [1, 2]. Lymphomas are known to localize in almost any part of the body; they are often classified by generating lymphoid cell population [3-5] and can take either chronic (low-grade) or acute (high-grade) form. Despite this threatening diversity, most lymphomas are well-studied and successfully treated adopting various therapeutic approaches, such as immunotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplants, chemotherapy, and specific lymphoma-targeted drug therapies [6-8].

However, along with substantial progress in managing lymphoma, there remain several unresolved issues. The lymphoma-causing factors and tumour formation mechanisms require a deeper understanding and additional research. Certain types of lymphoma do not respond to existing drugs. Some lymphoma-affected patients are resistant to conventional medical regimens or experience severe side effects. These difficulties maintain constant demand for innovative treatment options and new drugs to defeat lymphoma. Discovery and development of novel small-molecule inhibitors and immunotherapies make up one of the most promising directions of lymphoma-targeted drug design.

Although lymphoma is a common type of cancer, – around 1,000,000 people worldwide live with this disease, and it is increasing in incidence, – many people are unaware of signs and symptoms of lymphoma and lack necessary information and support. A low rate of conversance with symptom recognition and treatment options represents a major public health problem. Seeking to develop an awareness of lymphoma-related issues and to boost all kinds of anti-lymphoma research, the Lymphoma Coalition initiated the World Lymphoma Awareness Day (WLAD) in 2004. Since then, WLAD is marked every year on September 15th, intending to support patients, doctors, caregivers, and researchers that fight against cancers of the lymphatic system. The 2020 WLAD campaign invites everyone to join the global lymphoma community and to thank those who help people suffering from lymphomas.

Figure 1. Example of representative analogs of a known anti-lymphoma active compound selected via a structural similarity search

Joining its efforts with those in the front ranks, Life Chemicals presents the Lymphoma-targeted Compound Set: a dedicated selection of 610 structural analogs of known anti-lymphoma drugs used in chemotherapy for anti-cancer drug discovery research (Fig.1-2) [9]. 

We also offer a wide collection of bioactive small molecules for HTS against cancer-related targets:

• Anticancer Screening Library: 6,300 novel drug-like screening compounds with potential anti-tumor activity, targeting various cancer types
• Tyrosine Kinase Screening Library: 5,700 potential tyrosine kinase inhibitors 
• ALK Tyrosine Kinase Focused Library:  2,500 potential inhibitors of cancer-specific anaplastic lymphoma kinase
• STING Targeted Library: 1,600 potential STING agonists and antagonists
• Protein-Protein Interactions (PPI) Screening Libraries: seven compound sets based on receptor-based (molecular docking) and ligand-based (2D similarity search) approaches
• Epigenetic Screening Libraries: three compound collections selected by computational chemistry and virtual screening techniques

For any details,  you are most welcome to contact us at orders@lifechemicals.com. Please, visit our Website for more information and download SD files with compound structures in the Downloads section.

Figure 2. Mechanisms involved in targeting B-cell lymphoma cells. Picture credit: ImhofBeat A. et al., 2017 [10]

References

1. Younes, A. (Ed.). (2016). Handbook of Lymphoma. Springer International Publishing Switzerland. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-08467-1
2. Canellos George P., Lister T. Andrew, Young Bryan D. (eds.) The Lymphomas. 2nd edition. — Saunders, 2006. — 581 p. — ISBN 978-0-7216-0081-9
3. Swerdlow, S.H.; Campo, E.; Harris, N.L.; Jaffe, E.S.; Pileri, S.A.; Stein, H.; Thiele, J. (Eds.) WHO Classification of Tumours of Haematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues, Revised 4th ed.; IARC: Lyon, France, 2017.
4. Jiang, M., Bennani, N. N., & Feldman, A. L. (2017). Lymphoma classification update: B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Expert Review of Hematology, 10(5), 405–415. doi:10.1080/17474086.2017.1318053
5. Satou, A., Bennani, N. N., & Feldman, A. L. (2019). Update on the classification of T-cell lymphomas, Hodgkin lymphomas, and histiocytic/dendritic cell neoplasms. Expert Review of Hematology, 1–11. doi:10.1080/17474086.2019.1647777
6. Younes, A., Ansell, S., Fowler, N., et.al.. (2016). The landscape of new drugs in lymphoma. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 14(6), 335–346. doi:10.1038/nrclinonc.2016.205
7. Upadhyay, R., Hammerich, L., Peng, P., et.al. (2015). Lymphoma: Immune Evasion Strategies. Cancers, 7(2), 736–762. doi:10.3390/cancers7020736. This article belongs to the Special Issue Lymphoma: Cancers, 7 (2015).
8. Younes A. (2019). New drugs for new targets in lymphoma. Hematol Oncol. 37(S1):105–109. doi:10.1002/hon.2592
9. Frazzi, R.; Guardi, M. Cellular and Molecular Targets of Resveratrol on Lymphoma and Leukemia Cells. Molecules2017, 22, 885.
10. Imhof Beat, A.; Thomas, M. New Treatment for Non-Hodgkin B-Cell Lymphomas with a Special Focus on the Impact of Junctional Adhesion Molecules. Swiss Med. Wkly.2017, 147 (3738). doi:10.4414/smw.2017.14487.