This sounds like it can benefit multiple myeloma and is moving to human clinical trial
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/03/one-drug-to-shrink-all-tumors.html?ref=wp
Forums
Re: Advances in cancer drugs
Thanks Palmeg!!
This sounds promising.
It seems it would be a good drug to use post stem cell transplant, after they have driven down your number of detectable multiple myeloma cells. Patients would be re-infused with their own cells along with this antibody which could result in killing off the remaining undetectable population of multiple myeloma cells, resulting in longer survival.
Thanks for the link.
This sounds promising.
It seems it would be a good drug to use post stem cell transplant, after they have driven down your number of detectable multiple myeloma cells. Patients would be re-infused with their own cells along with this antibody which could result in killing off the remaining undetectable population of multiple myeloma cells, resulting in longer survival.
Thanks for the link.
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suzierose - Name: suzierose
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 2 sept 2011
Re: Advances in cancer drugs
Hi Paimeg..that is fascinating! CD47 proteins found on the surface of tumour cells, tricking the immune system into thinking that they are normal cells. An antibody produced against the CD47 leaves the tumour cells vulnerable to being destroyed by macrophages. I hope that the trials go well, especially since it seems that it is possible that this finding could have very wide implications. Since cd47 proteins are also found on the surfaces of normal cells, I suppose they have to find a way to bind the ones on tumours, or cancerous blood cells, particularly.
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Nancy Shamanna - Name: Nancy Shamanna
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self and others too
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2009
Re: Advances in cancer drugs
Yeah, I think more novel approaches can introduce new families of drugs. This gives patients a lot more treatment options 
and reduce drug resistance
and reduce drug resistanceRe: Advances in cancer drugs
On a related note, I recently came across the followin two articles -- which both are good things:
1. The first describes a CURE in a mice myeloma model While it may not necessarily be applicable to humans, it is nice to see such a result.
Leukemia. 2012 Mar 19. doi: 10.1038/leu.2012.70. [Epub ahead of print]
Curative one-shot systemic virotherapy in murine myeloma.
Naik S, Nace R, Federspiel MJ, Barber GN, Peng KW, Russell SJ.
SourceDepartment of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Abstract
Current therapy for multiple myeloma is complex and prolonged. Antimyeloma drugs are combined in induction, consolidation and/or maintenance protocols to destroy bulky disease, then suppress or eradicate residual disease. Oncolytic viruses have the potential to mediate both tumor debulking and residual disease elimination, but this curative paradigm remains unproven. Here we engineered an oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus to minimize its neurotoxicity, enhance induction of antimyeloma immunity, and facilitate noninvasive monitoring of its intratumoral spread. Using high resolution imaging, autoradiography and immunohistochemistry, we demonstrate that the intravenously administered virus extravasates from tumor blood vessels in immunocompetent myeloma-bearing mice, nucleating multiple intratumoral infectious centers which expand rapidly and necrose at their centers, ultimately coalescing to cause extensive tumor destruction. This oncolytic tumor debulking phase lasts only for 72 h after virus administration, and is completed before antiviral antibodies become detectable in the bloodstream. Anti-myeloma T cells, cross-primed as the virus-infected cells provoke an antiviral immune response, then eliminate residual uninfected myeloma cells. The study establishes a curative oncolytic paradigm for multiple myeloma where direct tumor debulking and immune eradication of minimal disease are mediated by a single intravenous dose of a single therapeutic agent. Clinical translation is underway.Leukemia accepted article preview online, 19 March 2012; doi:10.1038/leu.2012.70.
2. The second is probably the first example I have seen of a POSITIVE side effect of Revlimid. Apparently, it has anti-aging properties, including the reversal of graying hair.
J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2012 Mar 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Hair repigmentation associated with the use of lenalidomide: Graying may not be an irreversible process!
Dasanu CA, Mitsis D, Alexandrescu DT.
SourceDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, St Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT, USA.
Abstract
We report the first case of progressive hair repigmentation associated with the use of lenalidomide in an elderly patient with multiple myeloma. The influence of lenalidomide on follicular melanogenesis may involve removing the inhibitory influences of some cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α. In addition, certain endocrine effects of lenalidomide on the hypophyseal-adrenal axis could explain its action on hair pigmentation. We further hypothesize that lenalidomide may be capable of stimulating migration and/or differentiation of melanocytes to promote repigmentation of gray hair follicles. Pending the clarification of how hair repigmentation occurs with lenalidomide, our observation materializes the concept that hair graying may not be an irreversible process, which opens avenues for targeted therapeutics in the fields of cosmetics and anti-aging medicine.
1. The first describes a CURE in a mice myeloma model While it may not necessarily be applicable to humans, it is nice to see such a result.
Leukemia. 2012 Mar 19. doi: 10.1038/leu.2012.70. [Epub ahead of print]
Curative one-shot systemic virotherapy in murine myeloma.
Naik S, Nace R, Federspiel MJ, Barber GN, Peng KW, Russell SJ.
SourceDepartment of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
Abstract
Current therapy for multiple myeloma is complex and prolonged. Antimyeloma drugs are combined in induction, consolidation and/or maintenance protocols to destroy bulky disease, then suppress or eradicate residual disease. Oncolytic viruses have the potential to mediate both tumor debulking and residual disease elimination, but this curative paradigm remains unproven. Here we engineered an oncolytic vesicular stomatitis virus to minimize its neurotoxicity, enhance induction of antimyeloma immunity, and facilitate noninvasive monitoring of its intratumoral spread. Using high resolution imaging, autoradiography and immunohistochemistry, we demonstrate that the intravenously administered virus extravasates from tumor blood vessels in immunocompetent myeloma-bearing mice, nucleating multiple intratumoral infectious centers which expand rapidly and necrose at their centers, ultimately coalescing to cause extensive tumor destruction. This oncolytic tumor debulking phase lasts only for 72 h after virus administration, and is completed before antiviral antibodies become detectable in the bloodstream. Anti-myeloma T cells, cross-primed as the virus-infected cells provoke an antiviral immune response, then eliminate residual uninfected myeloma cells. The study establishes a curative oncolytic paradigm for multiple myeloma where direct tumor debulking and immune eradication of minimal disease are mediated by a single intravenous dose of a single therapeutic agent. Clinical translation is underway.Leukemia accepted article preview online, 19 March 2012; doi:10.1038/leu.2012.70.
2. The second is probably the first example I have seen of a POSITIVE side effect of Revlimid. Apparently, it has anti-aging properties, including the reversal of graying hair.
J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2012 Mar 22. [Epub ahead of print]
Hair repigmentation associated with the use of lenalidomide: Graying may not be an irreversible process!
Dasanu CA, Mitsis D, Alexandrescu DT.
SourceDepartment of Hematology-Oncology, St Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Hartford, CT, USA.
Abstract
We report the first case of progressive hair repigmentation associated with the use of lenalidomide in an elderly patient with multiple myeloma. The influence of lenalidomide on follicular melanogenesis may involve removing the inhibitory influences of some cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α. In addition, certain endocrine effects of lenalidomide on the hypophyseal-adrenal axis could explain its action on hair pigmentation. We further hypothesize that lenalidomide may be capable of stimulating migration and/or differentiation of melanocytes to promote repigmentation of gray hair follicles. Pending the clarification of how hair repigmentation occurs with lenalidomide, our observation materializes the concept that hair graying may not be an irreversible process, which opens avenues for targeted therapeutics in the fields of cosmetics and anti-aging medicine.
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Dan D
Re: Advances in cancer drugs
Thanks for the 2 abstracts, Dan! The first one sounds really amazing...it's a shift in thinking for us to have viruses effecting a cure, instead of colds, flu or worse. Those little mice are really helping us out in science....the article yesterday used mouse models also. I noted an article on this site about 'macrophages' and how they may protect myeloma cells from destruction, which seems to be the same sort of research.
And how interesting that Revlimid may reverse the greying of hair! I have experienced that, and of course this is just 'anecdotal' evidence, but when my hair all grew back in after the SCT, and while I was on maintenance chemo with Revlimid, it had a lot less grey in it than before. I was quite surprised actually.
And how interesting that Revlimid may reverse the greying of hair! I have experienced that, and of course this is just 'anecdotal' evidence, but when my hair all grew back in after the SCT, and while I was on maintenance chemo with Revlimid, it had a lot less grey in it than before. I was quite surprised actually.
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Nancy Shamanna - Name: Nancy Shamanna
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self and others too
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2009
Re: Advances in cancer drugs
Hi Nancy. It is interesting that your personal observations support the findings of the second study.
As for the first study (from the Mayo Clinic) what I find quite phenomenal -- but I have not seen the actual data -- is that all you would need is ONE injection and the disease is GONE. Wow!
As for the first study (from the Mayo Clinic) what I find quite phenomenal -- but I have not seen the actual data -- is that all you would need is ONE injection and the disease is GONE. Wow!
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Dan D
Re: Advances in cancer drugs
Hi Again Dan....it was nice to get a full head of hair back again, and it certainly seems less grey.....am no longer dyeing it, since am more afraid of chemicals than I used to be. At the time, I thought that the new (from myself) stem cells had done a lot of good work! It didn't occur to me that a chemo drug such as Revlimid could affect hair colour....so I guess that other influencing factors would have to be taken into account...I wonder if the 'elderly' patient also had a stem cell transplant? 'Elderly' as a description is kind of a moving target....
The viral research .. now does that fall into the category of 'vaccines'? In the vaccine world, there are both 'attenuated' and 'non live' varieties. Examples of 'attenuated', i.e. altered not to cause disease but still alive, would be measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox). An injection of a virus that was strong enough to kill off myeloma plasma cells would be subject to a lot of safety reviews...what if the patient could not get an immune response against it in 72 hours... would it take over your whole system? Many cancer patients are immuno-compromised. It just sounds very interesting though. Maybe we will hear more about that research.
The viral research .. now does that fall into the category of 'vaccines'? In the vaccine world, there are both 'attenuated' and 'non live' varieties. Examples of 'attenuated', i.e. altered not to cause disease but still alive, would be measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox). An injection of a virus that was strong enough to kill off myeloma plasma cells would be subject to a lot of safety reviews...what if the patient could not get an immune response against it in 72 hours... would it take over your whole system? Many cancer patients are immuno-compromised. It just sounds very interesting though. Maybe we will hear more about that research.
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Nancy Shamanna - Name: Nancy Shamanna
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Self and others too
- When were you/they diagnosed?: July 2009
Re: Advances in cancer drugs
Since I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma last April and have been flowing research into treatments, I have come the feeling that the best possible chance of a cure will come from getting your own immune system fight and kill of the cancer. I attended the MMRF symposium in San Francisco and there were a couple of research projects mentioned that were taking this approach. Last year I read an article about a novel treatment method for a type of leukemia that was tested on just three or four patients because funds were short. I wish I still had the link to the article as some of the details escape me now. But I remember it involved using gene therapy to modify white blood cells to recognize and kill cancer cells and live long enough to be effective. The approach had been tried before but was unsuccessful. This time they made some modifications that resulted in dramatically improved results. The patients that received the treatment were all just a few weeks from dying after everything else had failed. All but one appears to have been completely cured with no signs of cancer and the remaining one had a very good response and was still alive. The doctors estimated several pounds of cancerous tissue was killed off in just a few weeks in each of the patients from their own immune system. I did not see any reason such an approach to could not also be developed with multiple myeloma. The results got a lot of attention and the article said a lot more funding was being directed towards that treatment method for future studies and trials. It is results like this that make me believe it is not a false hope that a multiple myeloma cure may be found in the near future.
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Eric Hofacket - Name: Eric H
- When were you/they diagnosed?: 01 April 2011
- Age at diagnosis: 44
Re: Advances in cancer drugs
Hi Eric,
Welcome to the forum. I've enjoyed reading your postings.
I believe this is the news that you were referring to in your posting.
https://myelomabeacon.org/news/2011/08/12/gene-therapy-advance-in-leukemia-suggests-new-treatment-options-for-multiple-myeloma/
Welcome to the forum. I've enjoyed reading your postings.
I believe this is the news that you were referring to in your posting.
https://myelomabeacon.org/news/2011/08/12/gene-therapy-advance-in-leukemia-suggests-new-treatment-options-for-multiple-myeloma/
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TerryH
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