Annual Report 2014 : Cancer can’t outrun us
Developing a drug to starve cancer cells
The first experimental drug to be produced by MD Anderson’s drug discovery and development institute will kill cancer cells in a new way — by depriving them of the fuel necessary for growth and survival.
Under the leadership of Giulio Draetta, MD Anderson’s Institute for
Applied Cancer Science has developed a drug that kills cancer cells by
cutting off their fuel supply. Photo: Eric Kayne
Named after MD Anderson’s Institute for Applied Cancer Science (IACS) where it was developed, IACS-10759 blocks the conversion of nutrients into the energy that fuels cancer cells. The drug does this by blocking the function of mitochondria. Often called “powerhouses” of the cells, mitochondria generate the energy cells need to function. Certain cancer cells cannot survive if this mitochondrial function is blocked.
“Most cancer drugs target dividing cells,” says Giulio Draetta, M.D., Ph.D., IACS director. “With this new approach, we may hit both dividing and non-dividing cells that play a key role in tumor survival.”
The IACS scientists prepared and evaluated more than 800 compounds before finally arriving at IACS-10759, designing multiple attributes into the molecule to enable it to function effectively in patients.
IACS-10759 has potent activity against cultured human cancer cells and in mouse models of human cancer. Last year, mandatory preclinical safety studies of the drug began, the last step before seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration to take a drug into Phase I clinical trials.
Draetta expects the first-in-human Phase I trials to open in late 2015.
A team of IACS drug development experts with extensive industry experience identified and developed IACS-10759. They collaborate with the Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)/Myelodysplastic Syndromes Moon Shot, which will oversee the first clinical trial of the drug in AML patients.
Additional phase I trials for solid tumors and other blood cancers are also planned.
“We now have active collaborations across the institution, including lymphoma, melanoma and colorectal cancers,” Draetta says.
Swift development
Advancing this drug marks a significant milestone for IACS, established by MD Anderson President Ron DePinho, M.D., shortly after his arrival in late 2011 to bridge the gap between academic scientific discoveries and industrial drug development.
The institute’s goals include having an IACS-discovered drug in clinical trials at MD Anderson within the first five years.
Phil Jones, head of Drug Discovery, notes that IACS now has more than 60 scientists, most with extensive industry experience, developing novel cancer therapeutics.
“Our drug discovery experts collaborate day in and day out with MD Anderson’s outstanding disease centers,” Jones says. “To our knowledge, there’s no other group like this in the United States, and maybe only one other in the world — in the United Kingdom.”
More Stories From Annual Report

Improving survival with a new surgical protocol for ovarian cancer
Triathlete and marathoner Leslie Russell teaches reading to children
with dyslexia in the Spring Branch Independent School District. It’s a
job she loves in the community where she grew up.

Could proton therapy be the ‘holy grail’ for head and neck cancer treatments?
The good news is death rates continue to decline for the most common
types of cancer, including lung, colon, breast and prostate.

Finding the least disruptive solution to get patients back on their feet
Tucked in the elbow crook of Louisiana’s eastern border with Mississippi
lies the small town of Independence.

In early-stage breast cancer, a less aggressive approach can be just as effective
When treating women with breast cancer, less is sometimes more.

A childhood cancer survivor’s teenage worries? College and boys
Like many first-time parents, Gerardo and Dilma Camarillo worried when
their 9-month-old daughter, Ivana, was running a fever. Pediatricians,
friends and family reassured them.

Tiny clues left behind by cancer may help scientists solve its mystery
Tiny, virus-sized particles released by cancer cells may be the next big
thing in the world of cancer biology. Exosomes, derived from cells and
blood serum of patients, have been shown to detect pancreatic cancer
and, possibly, breast cancer, and are also linked to increased cancer
progression and tumor growth.

Grants fuel tomorrow’s cancer breakthroughs
A state of Texas program designed to expedite innovations in new cancer
treatments has helped MD Anderson recruit several new faculty members
during the past year.

Industry collaborations boost the immune system’s cancer-fighting abilities
MD Anderson’s expertise in cancer immunotherapy attracted the interest
of four major pharmaceutical companies, which signed three-year
collaborative agreements in early 2014 to develop new ways for the
immune system to destroy tumors.

The road to recovery, minus the traffic
Marietta Cline is one busy woman. As a doctor with four children who
loves to travel and build custom furniture, she’s a go-getter with
little time to spare.

An exchange program brings the best to Brazil
As a youngster growing up in São Paulo, Diogo Bugano Diniz Gomes was
fascinated by how things worked and how to fix them when they broke.

A call to action in South Texas
Since its introduction in the 1940s, the Pap test has been successfully
detecting abnormal cells in the cervix that, if left untreated, could
lead to cancer. In fact, that success has led to a 70% drop in cervical
cancer rates in the United States.

The physician assistant will see you now
Jenny Dahl was within a semester of graduating with a nutrition degree
when an invitation changed her mind — and her future.

The angelic side of Austin’s devilish taco king
The center that provides veterinary and preclinical research services to
support MD Anderson has received new, leading-edge laboratory equipment,
thanks to a $20,000 gift from Torchy’s Tacos in Austin.

With elevated risks, these survivors and ‘previvors’ aren’t taking any chances
When doctors told Mariana Torrado she had breast cancer, she didn’t
believe them at first.

Solving baby boomers’ problem with hepatitis C
Baby boomers — Americans born between 1945 and 1965 — grew up in one of
the wealthiest, most idealistic and physically fit generations in history.

Outreach delivers screening and hope to communities in need
More than 3,500 local women who are low income and uninsured have
received free mammograms through an MD Anderson community outreach initiative.

A survivor is saving lives through early detection
It was 1980 when Janelle Hail of Frisco, Texas, discovered a small lump
during a self-breast exam. A visit to the doctor resulted in an early
breast cancer diagnosis. The then-34-year-old mother of three feared for
her life. Today, she attributes her survival to early detection.