 |
|
Oral Drug Sets a New Survival Standard for Bone Marrow Cancer
November 26, 2007Rush University Medical Center participated in clinical trial of Revlimid
Findings from two large, international clinical trials show "unprecedented" survival for patients with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that occurs in the blood-making cells of bone marrow. The findings demonstrate that with Revlimid®, an oral cancer drug, all measures of myeloma showed significant improvement in patients where previous treatments had failed. Rush University Medical Center took part in the U.S. study. Results of the study were published November 21 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In the study, a total of 353 patients were enrolled at 44 centers. Of those patients, 177 were assigned to receive Revlimid (lenalidomide) plus dexamethasone, a steroid hormone, and 176 received a placebo plus dexamethasone. According to the study results, patients who received Revlimid had a median survival of 29.6 months, compared to 20.2 months for the placebo group. In the Revlimid group, 61 percent of patients responded to therapy as compared with 19.9 percent in the placebo group.
According to the International Myeloma Foundation, follow-up data from the U.S.study and a European study report even better results. Patients treated with Revlimid had a median survival of nearly three years (35 months), the longest median survival in this difficult to treat patient group.
"Myeloma, also called multiple myeloma, is of growing interest and concern," said Dr. Stephanie Gregory, the director of the section of Hematology at Rush University Medical Center. "Statistics show the number of diagnoses is increasing in the United States where most cancers are decreasing, and myeloma is being found in increasingly younger patients. These trends give us some urgency in having potent treatments to fight this disease."
Revlimid is an immunomodulatory agent, a drug that can modify or regulate the functioning of the immune system. It is the newest of what are called the novel therapies that have changed the outlook for myeloma patients. It is an oral drug that can be taken at home, and because it targets the cancer cells directly along with factors that support their growth, it does not have the difficult side effects associated with most chemotherapy.
"We are pleased that concerted efforts to find effective treatments in what was considered a rare, little-known cancer, have led to drugs like Revlimid," said Susie Novis, president and co-founder of the International Myeloma Foundation. "Myeloma has been a difficult disease to cure, but with the novel therapies we are developing effective, long-term treatments by using multiple drugs in sequence and in various combinations. The addition of a drug with the potency of Revlimid to this equation is especially important."
In Europe and the U.S. Revlimid has been approved for use in multiple myeloma, and in the U.S. it is also approved for a pre-leukemia condition called MDS. It is also being tested in other leukemias and lymphomas and even solid tumors.
Myeloma is a bone marrow cancer that attacks and destroys bone. It accounts for about 16,000 new cases of cancer each year. An estimated 56 thousand people in the United Statesare living with Myeloma and this year approximately 11,300 deaths from Myeloma are anticipated. While there is no known cure for myeloma, doctors have many approaches to help myeloma patients live better and longer.
The Coleman Foundation Comprehensive Multiple Myeloma Clinic at RushUniversityMedicalCenteroffers a team approach to diagnosing and treating this complicated disease. The clinic addresses the multiple organ systems that are affected in these patients. The team includes specialists in Hematology, Stem Cell Transplantation, Orthopedic Oncology, Neurosurgery, Palliative Care, Integrative Medicine, and Clinical Social Work. Many clinical trials are available for both newly diagnosed and relapsed patients. For more information call 1-800-352-RUSH.
Rush University Medical Center
According to the International Myeloma Foundation, follow-up data from the U.S.study and a European study report even better results. Patients treated with Revlimid had a median survival of nearly three years (35 months), the longest median survival in this difficult to treat patient group.
"Myeloma, also called multiple myeloma, is of growing interest and concern," said Dr. Stephanie Gregory, the director of the section of Hematology at Rush University Medical Center. "Statistics show the number of diagnoses is increasing in the United States where most cancers are decreasing, and myeloma is being found in increasingly younger patients. These trends give us some urgency in having potent treatments to fight this disease."
Revlimid is an immunomodulatory agent, a drug that can modify or regulate the functioning of the immune system. It is the newest of what are called the novel therapies that have changed the outlook for myeloma patients. It is an oral drug that can be taken at home, and because it targets the cancer cells directly along with factors that support their growth, it does not have the difficult side effects associated with most chemotherapy.
"We are pleased that concerted efforts to find effective treatments in what was considered a rare, little-known cancer, have led to drugs like Revlimid," said Susie Novis, president and co-founder of the International Myeloma Foundation. "Myeloma has been a difficult disease to cure, but with the novel therapies we are developing effective, long-term treatments by using multiple drugs in sequence and in various combinations. The addition of a drug with the potency of Revlimid to this equation is especially important."
In Europe and the U.S. Revlimid has been approved for use in multiple myeloma, and in the U.S. it is also approved for a pre-leukemia condition called MDS. It is also being tested in other leukemias and lymphomas and even solid tumors.
Myeloma is a bone marrow cancer that attacks and destroys bone. It accounts for about 16,000 new cases of cancer each year. An estimated 56 thousand people in the United Statesare living with Myeloma and this year approximately 11,300 deaths from Myeloma are anticipated. While there is no known cure for myeloma, doctors have many approaches to help myeloma patients live better and longer.
The Coleman Foundation Comprehensive Multiple Myeloma Clinic at RushUniversityMedicalCenteroffers a team approach to diagnosing and treating this complicated disease. The clinic addresses the multiple organ systems that are affected in these patients. The team includes specialists in Hematology, Stem Cell Transplantation, Orthopedic Oncology, Neurosurgery, Palliative Care, Integrative Medicine, and Clinical Social Work. Many clinical trials are available for both newly diagnosed and relapsed patients. For more information call 1-800-352-RUSH.
Rush University Medical Center
Myeloma Current Events and Myeloma News RSSOn the trail of a targeted therapy for blood cancers
nvestigators from the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research at the Indiana University School of Medicine are focusing on a family of blood proteins that they hope holds a key to decreasing the toxic effects of chemotherapy in children and adults.
Mayo researchers explore issues related to multiple myeloma treatment
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of plasma cells that affects approximately 3 in 100,000 people each year. Although there is no cure for this disease, researchers have developed treatments that help relieve pain, control complications, and slow the progress of MM in many patients.
VCU Massey Cancer Center Spearheads Novel Clinical Study for Lymphoma Patients
The Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center recently opened a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-sponsored, phase II clinical study for certain sub-types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Researchers discover how rheumatoid arthritis causes bone loss
Researchers have discovered key details of how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) destroys bone, according to a study published in the Aug. 22 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Clinical study shows biological and clinical activity in relapsed leukemia patients
Finbarr Cotter, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of the Institute of Cell and Molecular Science at Barts and The London School of Medicine, today presented in an oral session "Clinical Caspase Activation in CLL by GCS-100: a Phase 2 Study" at the 10th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (10-ICML).
OHSU Discovery May Lead to Early Cancer Detection
OHSU pancreatic cancer expert Brett Sheppard, M.D., and colleagues in the OHSU Oregon Stem Cell Center, have developed antibodies that recognize pancreatic cancer; Sheppard is presenting these findings this week during Digestive Disease Week in San Diego.
Immune system pathway identified to fight allergens, asthma
For the first time, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified genetic components of dendritic cells that are key to asthma and allergy-related immune response malfunction.
U of Minnesota study finds thalidomide shows promise for treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer
Thalidomide, a drug blamed in the 1950s for causing birth defects, is now showing promise as a safe and effective treatment for women with recurrent ovarian cancer, according to a study led by a University of Minnesota Cancer Center researcher.
Building stronger bones, 1 stem cell at a time
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are bone marrow-derived cells that are capable of giving rise to various cell types through a process known as differentiation.
Experimental procedure induces tolerance to mismatched kidney transplants
Four of five patients participating in a trial of an experimental protocol designed to induce immune tolerance to HLA-mismatched kidney transplants have been able to discontinue immunosuppressive drugs.
More Myeloma Current Events and Myeloma News Articles
 | 100 Questions and Answers About Myeloma (100 Questions & Answers about . . .) (100 Questions & Answers about . . .) by Asad Bashey, Rafat Abonour Whether you are a newly diagnosed myeloma patient, a survivor, or a friend or relative of either, this book offers help. The only text to provide the doctor s and patient s views, 100 Questions & Answers About Myeloma gives you authoritative, practical answers to your questions about treatment options, post-treatment quality of life, sources of support, and much more. Written by a... |
 | Multiple Myeloma: The Plain English Handbook for Patients and Care Givers by Robert J. Heller A concise and helpful overview of the disease, including therapies, medications, problems, and lifestyle changes. Many helpful hints in an easy to understand format which avoids a lot of hard to understand terminology in favor of a more light-hearted approach. Includes reproducible forms and many references to other... |
 | Multiple Myeloma Medical Guide by Qontro Medical Guides The Multiple Myeloma Medical Guide is a publication which has been designed to better help readers understand Multiple Myeloma. This Qontro Medical Guide has been designed with the reader in mind, and is a useful information source for readers at all levels looking to learn more about Multiple Myeloma. The Multiple Myeloma Medical Guide is highly recommended for those interested in understanding... |
| Myeloma Therapy:: Pursuing the Plasma Cell (Contemporary Hematology) Therapeutic options for patients with myeloma have radically changed over the past ten years. Beginning with the advances in therapy resulting from the use of high dose therapy and autologous bone marrow or stem cell transplant, we have more than doubled the median survival for patients as a whole, and have now a wealth of different biology based treatment approaches for our patients in all... | |
 | Myeloma (The Biology of Cancer) by Jerome E., Ph.d. Tanner |
 | Understanding Leukemias, Lymphomas and Myelomas by Tariq Mughal, John M. Goldman, Sabena Mughal A practical, easy-to-use guide to leukemias and lymphomas, Understanding Leukemia and Lymphoma is an invaluable text for everyone involved with these conditions, from specialists in training to interested patients. Using straightforward terminology and extensive color figures to describe and illustrate the current procedures involved in diagnosis and treatment, this is a ready source of up to... |
 | Multiple Myeloma: Translational and Emerging Therapies (Translational Medicine) by Kenneth C. Anderson Multiple myeloma is the second most prevalent hematological malignancy, with over 55,000 new cases diagnosed each year. This exciting new text stands as the only available reference to assemble, review, and synthesize the latest studies on translational... |
 | Multiple Myeloma and Related Plasma Cell Disorders (Hematologic Malignancies) Building on the considerable expertise of the dysproteinemia unit at Mayo Clinic, this book spans the gamut from multiple myeloma, the most frequent and most serious of the monoclonal gammopathies, to the rarest related disorders. Laboratory evaluation, associations with nonhematologic disorders, monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance, the more obscure plasma cell dyscrasias,... |
 | Multiple Myelomas, An Issue of Hematology / Oncology Clinics (The Clinics: Internal Medicine) by Kenneth C. Anderson Although treatable with conventional and high dose therapies, multiple myeloma (MM) remains incurable. However, recent advances in oncogenomics, coupled with increased understanding of the role of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment in MM pathogenesis, has provided the basis for a new treatment paradigm targeting the tumor cell in the BM milieu to overcome conventional drug resistance and... |
| Alien on a Familiar Planet: Remembering by Elaine P. Snyderman |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |