Title:A Patent Review on the Use of L-Asparaginase in the Treatment of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia
Volume: 15
Issue: 1
Author(s): Davi Almeida Freire*, Ilana Carneiro Lisboa Magalháes, Eridan Orlando Pereira Tramontina Florean and Maria Izabel Florindo Guedes
Affiliation:
- Department of Biotechnology, Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Fortaleza,Brazil
Keywords:
Acute lymphocytic leukemia, cancer, enzyme, improvement, L-asparaginase, patent, treatment, products.
Abstract: L-asparaginase (L-asparagine amino hydrolase, E.C.3.5.1.1) is the most important chemotherapeutic
drug used in treating Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), decreasing blood asparagine
rates causing apoptosis in tumor cells. However, pharmacological drugs cause several side effects
making treatments difficult. Thus, searches for new sources of L-asparaginase or enzyme modifications
focus on discovering new products to use in therapy. This article reviewed published patents
from 2000 to 2020 related to the treatment of ALL using L-asparaginase. Many organisms have been
shown as potential viable L-asparaginase producers for use in the treatment of ALL. However, this patent
review shows that few of these organisms are gaining attention to becoming bioproducts for the
market. It is expected that drugs in the testing phase and patents related to the treatment of ALL and
other cancers will become real products. Besides, a treatment using an amino acid depletion approach,
now referring to asparagine, altogether with a compound that directly interferes with the expression of
the asparagine synthase gene, is more suitable for the treatment of ALL and possibly to other cancers.
