The Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) announced Friday that it will partner with Merck & Co. to initiate Phase 2B clinical trials of Zolinza (vorinostat) in combination with Velcade (bortezomib). The trial is currently open for the enrollment of patients with relapsed multiple myeloma.

Zolinza, an oral histone deacetylase inhibitor that increases the cellular proteins that prevent cancer, has previously been approved for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Velcade has been previously approved …

The Road To Discovery - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) will hold a workshop on clinical trials on January 8, 2009, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Wellness Community in Indianapolis, IN. Guest speaker Dr. Michael Dugan from the St. Francis Indiana Blood and Marrow Transplantation will speak about the basics of clinical trials and how to participate in these new treatments. For more information, visit the LLS Web site.

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - …

Clinical trials using a new, highly targeted radiotherapy are currently being carried out in the United Kingdom. This new treatment will allow patients to be given a higher dose of radiation to destroy cancer cells in the bone marrow without harming healthy cells. The two-year trial at South General Hospital will involve 80 patients, half who will receive the new radiotherapy with chemotherapy and half with just chemotherapy.

There are several types of radiation treatments commonly used with multiple myeloma. …

The National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) reported in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine that PET scanning has an impact on the intended treatment of patients with cancer in one third of all cases. The latest results show that PET has a similar impact across all of these cancer types, especially multiple myeloma.

A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is an imaging process that uses a radioactive tracer to depict the organs and tissues in a body. The PET scanner converts …

The development of second-generation heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) inhibitors has reached Phase 3 trials of these agents in several types of cancer.  The success of the second-generation Hsp90 inhibitors is paving the way for major advancements with the third-generation Hsp90 inhibitor drugs.

Heat shock proteins protect cells stressed by elevated temperatures by assisting in protein folding. Hsp90 helps proteins that are associated with the underlying causes of various cancers, including the insulin growth factor-1 receptor in myeloma. Hsp90 inhibitors …

The annual Farmers Santa Parade will be held on Sunday in Auckland, New Zealand. The Leukaemia & Blood Foundation (LBF), similar to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, has been chosen to receive the money raised.

Each year, the parade organizers nominate a charity for which to collect. LBF, supported entirely by donations, is the only organization in New Zealand dedicated to supporting patients and families with blood-related diseases.

The parade is the largest in New Zealand and is …

Light The Night Walk For A Cure - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society organized its fourth-annual Light the Night Walk in The Woodlands, Texas, attracting more than 1000 walkers. The walk raised over $235,000 towards research for blood cancers. The event has been increasingly popular, quadrupling both in number of participants and dollars raised in the last four years. Light the Night Walk is a national campaign that celebrates everyone who has been touched by cancer. During the two …