I am also a patient at Hopkins, but I decided not to participate in the MILs trial. Nevertheless, I am very interested in what happens in the trial, and so I hope you will continue to write and share details about your husband's progress. I wish him the best.
I should have more information next week when we get the results of the myeloma labs and the bone marrow biopsy done on Tuesday. So far, the results are promising. There were not enough plasma cells in the aspirate extracted a month ago to even run the FISH test.
My understanding is that the issue for him with the 17p deletion has to do with how long a remission he can expect, since 17p deletion patients may initially respond to treatment, but relapse more quickly.
When we consulted with Ken Anderson at Dana Farber this past July, he said it was "a no brainier" for us to do the ASCT with the MILS as the novel agent and Revlimid for maintenance. He was very familiar with the trial at Hopkins.
I believe that my husband will soon be on a very low dose of Revlimid as part of the maintenance program, beginning with 2.5 mg / day. My husband had an adverse reaction to the 25 mg dose of Revlimid after he had been on it for 5 cycles (this past June). He had a red rash over most of his torso and thighs that appeared suddenly, and needed a tapering dose of prednisone to get rid of. That is why the initial maintenance dose of Revlimid will be so low. At the first sign of any rash, it will be immediately discontinued.
I appreciate the support. We are just about at Day +60 and he is feeling better each day.
BQ
