Yesterday, I read an article about the latest approach in halting myeloma in mice. The article in the Harvard Gazette mentioned clinical trials being conducted on patients. Does anyone know any additional information about this study?
Thank you.
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Re: Dana-Farber study about olaptesed pegol (NOX-A12)
Do you have a link to the article?
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Lev - Name: Lev
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: June 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 57
Re: Dana-Farber study about olaptesed pegol (NOX-A12)
Here's a link to the Harvard Gazette story:
"Spread of multiple myeloma halted in mice," The Harvard Gazette, September 25, 2014.
This is the research study referred to in the report:
AM Roccaro et al, "SDF-1 Inhibition Targets the Bone Marrow Niche for Cancer Therapy," Cell Reports, September 25, 2014 (full text in html and pdf available online).
The drug being tested in the article is known as olaptesed pegol (or NOX-A12).
(We've updated the title of this thread to include those drug names.)
The links in the previous paragraph will take you to news articles here at The Beacon that mention the drug. As of the time of this posting, both articles related to abstracts that were presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting. Those abstracts can be found at either of these two links:
https://myelomabeacon.org/tag/ash-2013-olaptesed-pegol/
https://myelomabeacon.org/tag/ash-2013-nox-a12/
The clinical trial that is currently testing olaptesed pegol is, we believe, this one:
"NOX-A12 in Combination With Bortezomib and Dexamethasone in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma"
A Beacon forum participant posted about the trial when it was first announced:
"NOX-A12 multiple myeloma clinical trial," Beacon forum thread started Sep 26, 2012.
We'll share our thoughts about the Gazette story and the underlying study in a separate posting.
"Spread of multiple myeloma halted in mice," The Harvard Gazette, September 25, 2014.
This is the research study referred to in the report:
AM Roccaro et al, "SDF-1 Inhibition Targets the Bone Marrow Niche for Cancer Therapy," Cell Reports, September 25, 2014 (full text in html and pdf available online).
The drug being tested in the article is known as olaptesed pegol (or NOX-A12).
(We've updated the title of this thread to include those drug names.)
The links in the previous paragraph will take you to news articles here at The Beacon that mention the drug. As of the time of this posting, both articles related to abstracts that were presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting. Those abstracts can be found at either of these two links:
https://myelomabeacon.org/tag/ash-2013-olaptesed-pegol/
https://myelomabeacon.org/tag/ash-2013-nox-a12/
The clinical trial that is currently testing olaptesed pegol is, we believe, this one:
"NOX-A12 in Combination With Bortezomib and Dexamethasone in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma"
A Beacon forum participant posted about the trial when it was first announced:
"NOX-A12 multiple myeloma clinical trial," Beacon forum thread started Sep 26, 2012.
We'll share our thoughts about the Gazette story and the underlying study in a separate posting.
Re: Dana-Farber study about olaptesed pegol (NOX-A12)
We saw the Harvard Gazette story when it came out yesterday and, to be honest, we thought it oversold somewhat the significance of the findings in the underlying study. More importantly, it neglected the fact that there already have been results reported for the trial testing olaptesed pegol in combination with Velcade (see the ASH abstracts).
In particular, despite what was in the Harvard Gazette story, the published paper reported that olaptesed pegol by itself has minimal, if any, activity against myeloma cells in mice. The study authors wrote that the drug "has no single-agent activity on the tumor cells."
Instead, to the extent that the drug can be effective, it works by enhancing the effectiveness of existing myeloma therapies, such as Velcade.
And, in that regard, the study authors found some promising results. When they combined olaptesed pegol with Velcade in mice implanted with myeloma cells, the combination almost completely halted the growth of the myeloma cells.
Yet, in the trial results presented at the ASH meeting, researchers reported that, out of 9 patients treated with the combination of Velcade and olaptesed pegol (NOX-A12), none achieved a complete response. Two achieved of very good partial response, and 4 achieved a partial response. (The patients had received a median of two previous treatment regimens.)
Those results are not bad. But they also make clear that olaptesed pegol isn't the kind of "myeloma cure" suggested by the Harvard Gazette article headline.
In addition, the trial results clarify why it's important to be cautious about the implications of pre-clinical (laboratory) studies such as the one covered in the Harvard Gazette story. Just because drugs show promise in preclinical studies doesn't mean they will be active when used on actual patients.
All of that having been said, we do think the Dana-Farber research is important, and olaptesed pegol may prove to be a valuable add-on to existing myeloma therapies. We'll just have to see what comes out of additional trials testing the drug.
In particular, despite what was in the Harvard Gazette story, the published paper reported that olaptesed pegol by itself has minimal, if any, activity against myeloma cells in mice. The study authors wrote that the drug "has no single-agent activity on the tumor cells."
Instead, to the extent that the drug can be effective, it works by enhancing the effectiveness of existing myeloma therapies, such as Velcade.
And, in that regard, the study authors found some promising results. When they combined olaptesed pegol with Velcade in mice implanted with myeloma cells, the combination almost completely halted the growth of the myeloma cells.
Yet, in the trial results presented at the ASH meeting, researchers reported that, out of 9 patients treated with the combination of Velcade and olaptesed pegol (NOX-A12), none achieved a complete response. Two achieved of very good partial response, and 4 achieved a partial response. (The patients had received a median of two previous treatment regimens.)
Those results are not bad. But they also make clear that olaptesed pegol isn't the kind of "myeloma cure" suggested by the Harvard Gazette article headline.
In addition, the trial results clarify why it's important to be cautious about the implications of pre-clinical (laboratory) studies such as the one covered in the Harvard Gazette story. Just because drugs show promise in preclinical studies doesn't mean they will be active when used on actual patients.
All of that having been said, we do think the Dana-Farber research is important, and olaptesed pegol may prove to be a valuable add-on to existing myeloma therapies. We'll just have to see what comes out of additional trials testing the drug.
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