Hello,
My name is Maria. My dad has multiple myeloma. The cancer was detected at 1.2MM level. He has already overcame 2 chemotherapy treatments – thalidomide with 60% remission, and Velcade with the result of 0.9MM.
As he doesn’t respond to these treatments as well as we’d wish, we are looking for an alternative ways of treatment.
We came across CIK (cytokine-induced killer cells) treatment in China.
If anyone of you received this treatment, I’d be glad to know your experience.
I’m also looking for the contacts to the doctors who work both with traditional and alternative medicine.
Best regards,
Maria
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3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Re: Cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) treatment
Hi Maria,
Welcome to the forum.
If I understand you correctly, it sounds like your dad first tried thalidomide and then separately tried Velcade.
Was a steroid such as dexamethasone included in each of the treatments?
Did he also try taking the combination of thalidomide with Velcade at the same time? A common approach these days is to combine three drugs such as thalidomide, Velcade and dexamethasone together.
How long were his treatments? It can take a few weeks of taking any of these drugs before you can see any real positive effect.
In the United States, there is a newer drug called Revlimid (lenalidomide) that generally replaces thalidomide for treating multiple myeloma. My understanding is that Revlimid is also now available in China if one previous treatment type fails (see this Reuters news article). So, you could also consider something like Revlimid + dexamethasone or Revlimid + Velcade + dexamethasone.
CIK-based treatment approaches are still in the early test and investigation phases. But there are a lot of other existing treatment approaches that you can explore in the meantime.
In any case, it's important to try and find a doctor who specializes in multiple myeloma. Where in China are you? Some folks on this forum may be able to point you to where you can find a multiple myeloma specialist.
Welcome to the forum.
If I understand you correctly, it sounds like your dad first tried thalidomide and then separately tried Velcade.
Was a steroid such as dexamethasone included in each of the treatments?
Did he also try taking the combination of thalidomide with Velcade at the same time? A common approach these days is to combine three drugs such as thalidomide, Velcade and dexamethasone together.
How long were his treatments? It can take a few weeks of taking any of these drugs before you can see any real positive effect.
In the United States, there is a newer drug called Revlimid (lenalidomide) that generally replaces thalidomide for treating multiple myeloma. My understanding is that Revlimid is also now available in China if one previous treatment type fails (see this Reuters news article). So, you could also consider something like Revlimid + dexamethasone or Revlimid + Velcade + dexamethasone.
CIK-based treatment approaches are still in the early test and investigation phases. But there are a lot of other existing treatment approaches that you can explore in the meantime.
In any case, it's important to try and find a doctor who specializes in multiple myeloma. Where in China are you? Some folks on this forum may be able to point you to where you can find a multiple myeloma specialist.
-
Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: Cytokine-induced killer cells (CIK) treatment
Hello,
Thank you for your answer!
My Dad is being treated in Poland. Here there are 3 lines of treatment. First my Dad was taking was thalidomide and dexamethasone, then dexamethasone with Adriamycin (doxorubicin). These did not worked for him. Now he is on the third treatment - Revlimid combined with dexamethasone.
I’m looking for information (experiences especially) regarding CIK.
In China there are clinics that use this method and, as far as I know, they are successful. One of our friends was in Thianjin and CIK treatment gave him good results. But his cancer is different, so I’m wondering if CIK is effective in curing multiple myeloma.
Thank you for your answer!
My Dad is being treated in Poland. Here there are 3 lines of treatment. First my Dad was taking was thalidomide and dexamethasone, then dexamethasone with Adriamycin (doxorubicin). These did not worked for him. Now he is on the third treatment - Revlimid combined with dexamethasone.
I’m looking for information (experiences especially) regarding CIK.
In China there are clinics that use this method and, as far as I know, they are successful. One of our friends was in Thianjin and CIK treatment gave him good results. But his cancer is different, so I’m wondering if CIK is effective in curing multiple myeloma.
3 posts
• Page 1 of 1
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