White Plains, NY (Press Release) - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) today announced a col­lab­o­ra­tion with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to ad­vance a novel adoptive immuno­therapy for patients with poor prognosis myeloma, a blood cancer. The ap­proach shows promise for patients with other blood cancers as well.

Under the leadership of Ivan Borrello, M.D., Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, a team of researchers is testing a method using marrow-infiltrating lym­pho­cytes (MILs) – immune T cells that are specifically trained to recog­nize and kill myeloma cells. MILs are produced from a patient's own bone marrow cells, expanded outside of the patient and then infused back into the patient fol­low­ing an au­tol­o­gous stem cell trans­plant.

High-risk patients with multiple myeloma can relapse quickly fol­low­ing an au­tol­o­gous stem cell trans­plant. MILs rep­re­sent a relatively simple treat­ment for patients with multiple myeloma and may provide a sig­nif­i­cant ad­vance over other types of ther­a­pies that have utilized the patients' own cells, because it provides killer immune cells that easily travel to the bone marrow to fight their tumors over a longer period.

Through its Therapy Acceleration Program, LLS will sup­port this project with up to $3.5 million over five years. The project evolved from Borrello's pre­vi­ous work sup­ported by LLS through a Translational Research Program grant.

The team plans to enroll 90 multiple myeloma patients in a Phase II clin­i­cal trial com­par­ing com­bi­na­tion ther­apy of MILs plus lena­lido­mide, another drug that treats multiple myeloma, versus lena­lido­mide alone. The study will involve high-risk myeloma patients being treated at multiple centers, with Johns Hopkins leading the trial and coordinating the cooperating centers.

"LLS is committed to ad­vanc­ing breakthrough ther­a­pies, particularly for patients with unmet medical need," said LLS Senior Vice Pres­i­dent of Research Richard C. Winneker, Ph.D. "T-cell immuno­therapy is emerging as a promising thera­peutic option for patients, and we are hopeful that this MILs ap­proach will im­prove out­comes for patients with high-risk myeloma, and could be applied to patients with other blood cancers as well."

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (R) (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lym­phoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and im­prove the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free in­for­ma­tion and sup­port services.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

Source: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.