Hi there
My Dad was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 7 years ago. He was originally given a prognosis of 5 years, but thanks be to God he is still here and doing really well. He was on Thalidomide a few years ago, even though it worked really well he had to come off it due to the side effects. He is now on Revlimid and his protein count each month is 'stable'. His consultant did mention at any point he could become immune to Revlimid and a secondary cancer could come into the picture too. I was just wondering if this has happened to anyone else and if so what were the other treatment options, He lives in Ireland, so not sure if all treatments are available everywhere...
Emma
Forums
3 posts
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Re: Becoming immune to Revlimid
Emma,
My sister-in-law was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 2 years ago and has been on almost every type of chemo there is. December 20, 2012 her doctor told us she only had 1 - 2 months to live and her M spike at that time was about 4.6. He decided to try her on a new chemo, Kyprolis, and it has done wonders for her!!! At that time she was getting between 2-4 units of blood every week and platelets about every other week. Her blood work and kidneys were hitting rock bottom. She saw the doctor today and he kids her that she has 20 lives. Her M spike has been pretty stable at 1.3 to 1.9 since January and she hasn't had any blood transfusions since March! She feels pretty good and has started to gain weight and hasn't gotten sick from the chemo. She is still prone to bronchial infections but manages to fight them off. I think that Kyprolis is a miracle and everyone who is running out of options should try it. I hope it's available for your dad.
Good luck,
Joyce
My sister-in-law was diagnosed with multiple myeloma 2 years ago and has been on almost every type of chemo there is. December 20, 2012 her doctor told us she only had 1 - 2 months to live and her M spike at that time was about 4.6. He decided to try her on a new chemo, Kyprolis, and it has done wonders for her!!! At that time she was getting between 2-4 units of blood every week and platelets about every other week. Her blood work and kidneys were hitting rock bottom. She saw the doctor today and he kids her that she has 20 lives. Her M spike has been pretty stable at 1.3 to 1.9 since January and she hasn't had any blood transfusions since March! She feels pretty good and has started to gain weight and hasn't gotten sick from the chemo. She is still prone to bronchial infections but manages to fight them off. I think that Kyprolis is a miracle and everyone who is running out of options should try it. I hope it's available for your dad.
Good luck,
Joyce
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Joyce
Re: Becoming immune to Revlimid
"Resistant" to Revlimid is a more appropriate term. In either case, eventually your father will become resistant to Revlimid. Until that time, I would not recommend changing anything as long as he is tolerating the drug well and his disease remains stable.
Revlimid is not the only therapy for a myeloma- so there are additional options that you will hopefully have access to. Bortezomib (Velcade) and newer agents carfilzomib (Kyprolis), pomalidomide (Pomalyst,Imnovid) (carfilzomib is not yet approved in the EU). There are also combination with more tradiational agents: Cytoxan (cyclosphosphamide), Doxil, bendamustine (Treanda), and melphalan. Clinical trials are also important, if available.
The risk of secondary primary malignancies (secondary cancers) following Revlimid therapy appears to limited be to individuals receiving maintenance Rev following high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplant or induction/primary therapy with concomitant Revlimid, melphalan, prednisone. In other settings the risk does not appear to be significant.
Revlimid is not the only therapy for a myeloma- so there are additional options that you will hopefully have access to. Bortezomib (Velcade) and newer agents carfilzomib (Kyprolis), pomalidomide (Pomalyst,Imnovid) (carfilzomib is not yet approved in the EU). There are also combination with more tradiational agents: Cytoxan (cyclosphosphamide), Doxil, bendamustine (Treanda), and melphalan. Clinical trials are also important, if available.
The risk of secondary primary malignancies (secondary cancers) following Revlimid therapy appears to limited be to individuals receiving maintenance Rev following high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplant or induction/primary therapy with concomitant Revlimid, melphalan, prednisone. In other settings the risk does not appear to be significant.
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Dr. Ken Shain - Name: Ken Shain, M.D., Ph.D.
Beacon Medical Advisor
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1