Articles tagged with: Multiple Myeloma
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“Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.”
– Max Ehrmann, Desiderata.
I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in July of 2009 at the age of 58. In hindsight, I should have known that a misfortune was developing because things started to change earlier that year.
The spring of 2009 was a late, cold one here in Calgary. Snow storms buffeted us almost weekly into May. Most outdoor exercise seemed to include snow shoveling and walking with snow boots on. Dreams of flower gardens and spring activities were…
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The final results of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial indicate that perifosine in combination with Velcade and dexamethasone may be effective in multiple myeloma patients who previously relapsed from or were treatment-resistant to Velcade.
The trial results made a favorable impression on Dr. Philip McCarthy of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, who was not involved in the study.
“This combination had activity with an overall response rate (complete response, near complete response, partial response, and minor response) of 41 percent which is quite reasonable and exciting…
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Just this week, an acquaintance of mine passed away due to complications from his long-running battle against multiple myeloma. He was treated at the same out-of-state myeloma clinic at which I was treated. We occasionally ran into each other at the local cancer center where we both received maintenance chemotherapy.
He was fifteen years my senior and had a lot of medical problems aside from myeloma. Ultimately his kidneys were destroyed, he was on dialysis, his heart was diseased, and he had trouble getting around most days. While his condition…
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Viracept Demonstrates Anti-Myeloma Activity – Results of a recent preclinical trial show that Viracept (nelfinavir), alone or in combination with other common myeloma drugs, prevents myeloma cell growth and causes cell death. Viracept is a protease inhibitor and is approved in the United States and Canada for the treatment of HIV. Studies have suggested that protease inhibitors such as Viracept may be effective against cancer. It is thought that they may work similarly to proteasome inhibitors like Velcade (bortezomib), In this preclinical study, Viracept enhanced the anti-cancer activity of myeloma drugs Velcade and dexamethasone (Decadron) as well as an anti-cancer compound called valproic acid. Viracept also slowed tumor growth in mice with myeloma. For more information, see the study in Haematologica (pdf).
Study Helps Demonstrate How Green Tea Fights Myeloma – EGCG, an active compound in green tea, has previously been shown to have cancer preventative and cancer fighting properties. However, little was known about the way EGCG works to fight cancer. In this recent preclinical study, Japanese researchers showed that EGCG works by disrupting the outer membrane of myeloma cells, but not healthy cells, thereby selectively killing myeloma cells. For more information, please see the study in Biochemical Journal (pdf). For information about green tea blocking the effectiveness of Velcade, see related Beacon news.
ACY-1215 In Combination With Velcade Shows Potential As Myeloma Treatment – The results of a recent preclinical study show that low doses of ACY-1215 in combination with Velcade kill multiple myeloma cells. ACY-1215, which is being developed by Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, belongs to a class of drugs called HDAC inhibitors. Zolinza (vorinostat) and panobinostat are also HDAC inhibitors that are being studied for the treatment of myeloma. The study showed that ACY-1215 in combination with Velcade slowed tumor growth and extended the overall survival of mice with myeloma. ACY-1215 is currently being studied in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in combination with Velcade and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. For more information or to enroll in the trial, please see the study in Blood (abstract) and the clinical trial description.
NVP-HSP990 May Be Active Against Myeloma – Results of a recent preclinical study show that NVP-HSP990, alone or in combination with other myeloma treatments, may be effective at treating multiple myeloma. NVP-HSP990, which is being developed by Novartis (NYSE: NVS), is a heat shock protein 90 inhibitor like tanespimycin, which was in Phase 3 trials for myeloma when its development was halted in 2010. The recent study showed that NVP-HSP990 killed myeloma cells in the laboratory, and this activity was significantly enhanced in combination with melphalan (Alkeran). For more information, see the study in Anticancer Research (abstract).
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The results of a recent Phase 2 clinical trial suggest that siltuximab in combination with dexamethasone may be effective for some multiple myeloma patients resistant to prior dexamethasone-containing treatments. However, siltuximab in combination with high-dose dexamethasone may be associated with a high rate of serious side effects.
Dr. Peter Voorhees from the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, presented these results at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference in San Diego last month.
Although Dr. Voorhees and his colleagues concluded that the combination of siltuximab…
