Beacon NewsFlashes – November 21, 2012
Dr. Jason Valent Joins The Beacon’s Medical Advisor Team – Dr. Jason Valent, associate staff in the Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders Department of the Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute, has joined The Myeloma Beacon’s team of Medical Advisors. Beacon Medical Advisors assist with answering medical questions posted in the Beacon's multiple myeloma forums. Dr. Valent is answering questions this week. For more information about getting medical questions answered in the forums, please see these instructions.
Additional Pomalidomide Survival Results Announced – Results from a Phase 3 study show that pomalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone (Decadron) extends the survival of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients, as compared to high-dose dexamethasone alone. Specifically, median progression-free survival was 15.7 weeks for those treated with pomalidomide, as compared to 8 weeks for those treated only with dexamethasone. In addition, pomalidomide significantly extended overall survival; at the time of the analysis, median overall survival was not yet reached for those treated with pomalidomide and 34 weeks for those treated with dexamethasone alone. Additional results will be presented at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting. For more information, see the ASH abstract and the Beacon news article about the initial – less detailed – announcement of the recent pomalidomide survival findings.
Wogonin May Be Active Against Multiple Myeloma – Results of a recent Chinese study indicate that the compound wogonin may be effective against multiple myeloma. Wogonin is found in the traditional herb baikal skullcap, also known as Chinese skullcap, and has been shown to inhibit cell growth and trigger cell death in a variety of cancer cell lines. In the current study, Chinese researchers showed that wogonin triggers cancer cell death in human myeloma cell lines. For more information, please see the study in the journal Life Sciences (abstract).
Aspartame May Increase Men’s Risk Of Developing Myeloma – Results of a recent study indicate that men who drink more than one aspartame-containing diet soda per day have an increased risk of developing multiple myeloma, compared to men who do not drink diet soda. The researchers did not observe the same increased risk among women. Aspartame is a common artificial sweetener. It is the active ingredient in the branded artificial sweetener NutraSweet. For more information, please see the study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (abstract).
Related Articles:
- ASCO 2018 Update – Expert Perspectives On The Key Multiple Myeloma-Related Oral Presentations
- FDA Approves Once-Weekly Dosing And Revised Safety Information For Kyprolis
- Researchers Shed More Light On Risk Of MGUS In Close Relatives Of People With Multiple Myeloma
- Revlimid, Velcade, and Dexamethasone, Followed By Stem Cell Transplantation, Yields Deep Responses And Considerable Overall Survival In Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
- Diet May Affect Risk Of Developing MGUS And Risk Of MGUS Progressing To Multiple Myeloma
Very exciting to have a new doctor from the Cleveland Clinic answering question! But, when I click on the forum it says, "The Myeloma Beacon is experiencing technical difficulties" - when will this be resolved? Thanks!
Hello Elizabeth,
Thanks for your feedback.
The error you are seeing is most likely one left over from the time when the Beacon was out of commission due to Hurricane Sandy. We're not experiencing any technical difficulties any longer. Unfortunately, your browser isn't realizing that.
Please try to go to the forum again. If you get the "experiencing technical difficulties" page again, use the "control-r", F5, or "control-F5", or "shift-F5" keys/key-combinations on your keyboard to tell your browser to reload the page. In most cases, that will send you off to the correct webpage (forum home page).
If none of the key combinations do the trick, let us know, and we'll look into the problem further.
Good luck!
Thank you, that worked!
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing well?
I would like to know if anyone experiences very large bruising in the stomach after Velcade Injection, not the IV way. Or anyone notices any difference in their iGg levels.
I would appreciate if someone can get back to me about this. By the way my Husband has been on the new way from June, but this last 3 Injections have been very bad.
Please help
Ena Martin
Thank you
Question for Beacon Staff,
Did the researchers account for weight/obesity in their study showing elevated risk of MM for those who consume aspartame?
People who consume diet soda are heavier than non drinkers, and since weight is a risk factor for MM, it should be accounted for in the study, but I didn't see it mentioned.
About 6 months ago, our local oncologist removed all soda drinks from the clinic, so I assume he had a headsup on this study?
Thanks, Stann
Stann,
Obesity from soda is also due to high fructose corn sugar (HFCS)...so, being overweight would more likely occur from non-diet sodas, whereas the aspartame is typically consumed in the diet drinks, by those who are more weight concious.
HFCS, is a big culprit in terms of obesity across the board, as you likely know..since it is virtually ubiquitous in all of our packaged and processed or pre-prepared foods. Which is why the new rule for grocery shopping is to only shop the perimeter of the store...the inner aisles contain all the bad/unhealthy stuff...as that is where all the fresh produce, deli fresh, meat, and diary is typically located.
Outer perimeter only when grocery shopping!
I only venture down the inner aisles now for condiments and spices.
Now that I think about it, you're right. The periimeter is where the healthy stuff is located. There must be an ap that sets off an alarm on your Iphone when you enter the "inner zone"-haha.
I remember reading that drinkers of diet soda are also overweight. Not sure if is because heavier people drink diet soda, or that drinking diet soda makes you think you can eat more bad food. I've also heard that your body thinks it's sugar and...somehow that makes you gain weight.
Progress toward fundraising goal
for all of 2020:
15%
For more information, see the Beacon's
"2020 Fundraising: Goals And Updates" page