A new therapeutic approach tested by a team from Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (CIUSSS-EST, Montreal) and the University of Montreal gives promising results for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow currently considered incurable with conventional chemotherapy and for which the average life expectancy is about 6 or 7 years. The study was lead be Dr. Jean Roy, a haematologist at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital and professor at the University of Montreal, between 2001 and 2010 with 92 newly diagnosed patients.
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A new cancer drug has been developed by scientists at Imperial College London, which they plan to trial in multiple myeloma patients by the end of next year.
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‘Multiple myeloma is currently considered incurable with conventional chemotherapy and for which the average life expectancy is about 6 or 7 years.’
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Using an approach developed at Maisonneuve-Rosemont, consisting of an autograft to reduce tumour mass followed by a family allograft three to four months later to clean the bone marrow of myeloma cells with immune cells from a family donor (immunotherapy), the study resulted in a total cure rate of 41%, a record level using this strategy. Moreover, patients in complete remission six months after the allograft had a relapse-free survival rate of 60%. Overall, the autograft strategy followed by allograft resulted in relapse-free survival rates of 20-25% in the long term.
"In many hospitals, doctors have abandoned the use of allografts for multiple myeloma due to the risk of toxicity and relapse. Our results, on the other hand, have led us to offer the treatment to more patients, especially younger patients and those with poorer prognoses," said Dr. Roy. The results of this research were published in the specialized journal Bone Marrow Transplantation.
![New Drug “Ninlaro” Receives USFDA Approval for Treating Multiple Myeloma]( "New Drug “Ninlaro” Receives USFDA Approval for Treating Multiple Myeloma")
Ninlaro is a type of cancer drug called a proteasome inhibitor which works by blocking enzymes from multiple myeloma cells, hindering their ability to grow.
Moreover, in the same study, the mortality rate associated with this treatment over ten years was 10%, an extremely low rate following a family donor allograft. And while 50% of patients experienced a relapse of their myeloma, the subsequent treatment showed marked efficacy: 50% of these patients were alive five years after the relapse.
Based on these results, a new study aiming to reduce rates of relapse and complications is currently underway at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, with still preliminary but very encouraging results. The study was supported by the University of Montreal's William Brock Fund.
Source: Newswise
New Drug “Ninlaro” Receives USFDA Approval for Treating Multiple Myeloma
Ninlaro is a type of cancer drug called a proteasome inhibitor which works by blocking enzymes from multiple myeloma cells, hindering their ability to grow.
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Moreover, in the same study, the mortality rate associated with this treatment over ten years was 10%, an extremely low rate following a family donor allograft. And while 50% of patients experienced a relapse of their myeloma, the subsequent treatment showed marked efficacy: 50% of these patients were alive five years after the relapse.
Based on these results, a new study aiming to reduce rates of relapse and complications is currently underway at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, with still preliminary but very encouraging results. The study was supported by the University of Montreal's William Brock Fund.
Source: Newswise
Phase III Trial of New Immune Therapy Drug shows Promise Against Multiple Myeloma
The drug, elotuzumab when taken in addition to the standard therapy for multiple myeloma, lowered the death risk or having the cancer return by almost 30%.
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 Metastasis in Multiple Myeloma Caused by Narrow Subset of Cells: StudyMultiple myeloma is the most highly metastatic of all cancers, and is driven to spread by only a subset of the myeloma cells within a patient's body, find researchers. | Advertisement
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