Articles tagged with: CD38 Targeted Therapies
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Physicians and researchers have started gathering for the 18th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA), which will take place in Stockholm this year. The first education and poster sessions of the meeting will take place tomorrow, Friday, June 14. Additional sessions of various kinds are scheduled for both days of the weekend, until the meeting ends early Sunday afternoon (European time).
The research presented at the meeting will cover all areas of hematology, which is the study of blood, blood-forming organs, and blood-related diseases, including multiple myeloma.
The EHA meeting is …
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This year’s meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was held May 31 through June 4 in Chicago.
During the meeting, The Beacon published daily updates that provided overviews of the important multiple myeloma findings presented during the meeting.
Now that the meeting has concluded, the focus shifts to the bigger picture: What were the key findings of the meeting? Were there results with immediate implications for the treatment of multiple myeloma? Did the research at the meeting represent a major step forward for myeloma patients, or …
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This year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) came to an end yesterday in Chicago.
Monday was the busiest day with regard to myeloma-related research. The day started with an oral presentation session that included eight talks about important new myeloma-related research. A poster session in the afternoon included several posters about myeloma-related research.
This article summarizes the most important findings from Monday's oral presentation session. A later article will cover the findings from the afternoon poster session.
The content in our daily updates is based on the …
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In a recent review article published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, two myeloma experts from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Nikhil Munshi and Dr. Kenneth Anderson, review the latest strategies in the treatment of multiple myeloma.
In their article, the experts discuss newer therapies that appear to be promising in clinical and preclinical studies.
According to the physicians, combination therapies that specifically target a patient’s genetic form of the disease will be required for long-term disease control and ultimately a cure.
Some Historical Perspective
In their review article, Drs. Munshi and …
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The American Society of Clinical Oncology will hold its 49th annual meeting May 31 through June 4 in Chicago.
Similar to previous years, more than 25,000 clinical specialists from all over the world are expected to attend the five-day meeting to discuss the current research in cancer treatment and care. The theme for this year’s meeting is “Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer.”
During the meeting, there will be presentations and seminars about all areas of cancer, including many focused specifically on multiple myeloma. The ASCO website currently lists more than 60 myeloma-based presentations (included …
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Daratumumab Receives Breakthrough Therapy Designation For Multiple Myeloma – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week granted breakthrough therapy designation to the investigational drug daratumumab. The breakthrough therapy designation is a new designation, signed into law in 2012. It is designed to accelerate the development and review process for drugs intended to treat serious or life-threatening illnesses. Daratumumab is being developed by the Danish biotechnology company Genmab together with Janssen Biotech, a Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) subsidiary. It is a monoclonal antibody, like elotuzumab and siltuximab, that signals the immune system to kill myeloma cells. Results from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial indicated that daratumumab is effective in heavily pretreated myeloma patients (see related Beacon news). For more information, please see the Genmab press release.
Statins May Aid Stem Cell Collection In Multiple Myeloma – Results from a recent retrospective study indicate that statins may have a positive impact on stem cell collection in multiple myeloma patients. Specifically, the researchers found that the success rate for sufficient stem cell collection was higher in patients who received statins during stem cell collection (85 percent), compared to patients who did not receive statins (64 percent). All patients received granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) as a stem cell mobilizing agent. The researchers point out that larger studies are necessary to confirm their findings. Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting cholesterol production in the liver. Atorvastatin (Lipitor) is the most common statin administered to patients with heart disease. A previous study showed that statins reduce a myeloma patient’s chance of developing the complication graft-versus-host disease after undergoing a donor stem cell transplant (see related Beacon news). For more information, please refer to the study in the journal Clinical Translational Oncology (abstract).
Study Finds Bisphosphonates May Not Decrease Kidney Function In Myeloma Patients Undergoing Stem Cell Transplantation – Findings from a retrospective study show that the bisphosphonates Boniva (ibandronate), Aredia (pamidronate), and Zometa (zoledronic acid) may not significantly decrease kidney function in multiple myeloma patients undergoing stem cell transplantation. The researchers also found that the impact of each of the three bisphosphonates on kidney function were similar. Specifically, 33 percent of patients who received Boniva, 44 percent who received Aredia, and 21 percent who received Zometa experienced a decrease in creatinine clearance of at least 25 percent over the course of bisphosphonate therapy. The researchers conclude that bisphosphonate therapy for up to three years appears to be safe on kidneys. Bisphosphonates are prescribed in multiple myeloma to slow down and prevent bone destruction. Previous studies have found that bisphosphonates may cause kidney damage. For more information, please see the study in the International Journal of Hematology (abstract).
News, Opinion»
Within the past nine months, two new agents have been approved for the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma.
In July 2012, a second generation proteasome inhibitor, Kyprolis (carfilzomib), was approved for patients with relapsed/refractory disease. In February of this year, Pomalyst (pomalidomide) was approved for use in similar patients.
These two agents, with dexamethasone (Decadron) or in combination with other drugs, should further broaden the armamentarium for the treatment of myeloma as we continue to strive to make myeloma a chronic disease.
Rather than dwell on …
