THE Histiocyte Society’s latest annual meeting has been hailed a great success after it was revealed that LCH is an unusual type of malignancy or cancer.
The findings were presented in a report by Dr Barrett Rollins’ laboratory in Boston which showed that over half of the LCH biopsies examined by scientists contained a specific genetic change in BRAF called V600E which has also been seen in melanoma, colorectal cancer and thyroid cancers.
As a result, scientists have concluded that this is the first direct evidence to determine that LCH has, in many cases, the same genetic changes as many common types of cancer and is the best evidence to date that the disease is an unusual malignancy or cancer.
Dr James Whitlock, President of The Histiocyte Society, said: “Much work remains to be done to better understand the precise role of this gene in the development of LCH, but it raises the promise of new therapies for patients with LCH, since several pharmaceutical companies have developed new drugs which inhibit, or block, the abnormality caused by the BRAF mutation in cancer lines.
“Work is already underway by members of The Histiocyte Society to develop and open a clinical trial which will test whether a new drug which targets the BRAF signalling pathway will be effective in patients with LCH.”
The meeting, partially sponsored by The H R Trust, was attended by over 170 clinicians from 100 countries and was held in Boston, USA.
Some other highlights included:
Further information about The Histiocyte Society can be found on www.histiocytesociety.org