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Discussion about multiple myeloma treatments, stem cell transplants, clinical trials, alternative medicines, supplements, and their benefits and side effects.

The Cancer Stem Cell

by peter parker on Sun Dec 12, 2010 11:30 pm

Which potential lays in the B-Cell/CSC-research? Myeloma often reacts to first chemo and then comes back. That's special. There remains something in the bone marrow after SCT. Shouldn't that relapse be the most important item in myeloma therapy/research? Or do you think the surrounding of the tumor, with the pdc's protecting the tumor against chemotherapeutic drugs, is the more important target, to get fast successes?

peter parker

Re: The Cancer Stem Cell

by Dr. Philip McCarthy on Mon Dec 13, 2010 9:37 pm

Hi,

Good questions. There is a lot of potential in a multi-facted approach to myeloma research that involves laboratory investigation as well as clinical trials. Multiple myeloma does relapses or progresses after initial therapy. However this is not specific to myeloma as many cancers respond in a similar manner. For example, many lung cancers respond to initial therapy but then relapse or progress, sometimes without responding to salvage therapies. Multiple myeloma responds to a variety of agents either upfront or as part of salvage after relapse or progression including the Immunomodulatory agents such as lenalidomide and pomalidomide as well as the proteasome inhibitors such as bortezomib and carfilzomib and the HDAC inhibitors such as vorinostat (combined with other drugs) and antibodies such as elotuzumab or aurora kinase inhibitors. I cannot say which approach, targeting relapse, developing better drugs for initial therapy, targetting the microenvironment including the bone marrow stroma or the plasmacytoid dendritic cells, developing immune therapies such as vaccines against myeloma is the best way to attack this cancer. Thus, it is important that multiple approaches be taken to control and eventually cure this disease

Dr. Philip McCarthy
Name: Philip McCarthy Jr., M.D.


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