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[ by Navneet Ramesh and | Feb 6, 2013 2:41 pm | 7 Comments ]

Results from a small German study indicate that a stem cell transplant using the patient’s own cells, followed by a transplant using cells from a donor, may improve the prognosis of multiple myeloma patients with high-risk chromosomal abnormalities.

Patients in the study who had high-risk chromosomal abnormalities had similar rates of molecular remission, which is a more stringent form of a complete response, and progression-free survival as patients without high-risk chromosomal abnormalities.

According to the German researchers, their findings show that patients with high-risk chromosomal abnormalities can achieve long-term remission.

However, the …

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[ by The Myeloma Beacon Staff | Dec 10, 2012 1:18 pm | One Comment ]

Yesterday was the second day of the 2012 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting.  Although the myeloma-related sessions got a bit of a late start, the day featured a wide range of interesting presentations about multiple myeloma.

Many myeloma-related oral presentations were given in the afternoon and were summarized in updates published yesterday and earlier today.

During the evening yesterday, a poster session took place where important new research findings were summarized in posters displayed throughout a large conference hall. The studies covered a variety of myeloma-related topics, ranging …

Opinion»

Many of the topics I write about start out as random things in my life that eventually grow into a column. Sometimes the seed is planted by a comment someone makes, or perhaps something I read, or in at least one case by a dream.

The idea for this month's column came to me when I recently heard the song "Once In A Lifetime" by the Talking Heads, which includes the line "You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?"

Or in other words, "Why do I have multiple myeloma?" …

NewsFlash »

Kyprolis Is Now Available In The United States – The newly approved myeloma treat­ment Kyprolis (car­filz­o­mib) is available on the U.S. market starting today. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Kyprolis on July 20 for the treat­ment of multiple myeloma patients who have received at least two prior ther­a­pies (see related Beacon news). Physicians can now prescribe Kyprolis to myeloma patients throughout the U.S. To learn more about the recent FDA approval of Kyprolis and the drug's launch, please see The Beacon’s detailed questions and answers article published last week.

Exelixis Starts Clinical Trial Of Cabozantinib In Patients With Relapsed Or Refractory Myeloma – Exelixis, a bio­pharma­ceu­tical com­pany based in South San Francisco, announced last week the start of a Phase 1 trial of cabozantinib (XL184) in multiple myeloma. Cabozantinib is a com­­pound that inhibits the activity of two key enzymes, at least one of which is known to promote the growth of myeloma cells. The study will in­ves­ti­gate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary activity of cabozantinib in patients with re­lapsed or refractory multiple myeloma with bone disease. Cabozantinib is also being in­ves­ti­gated as treat­ment for several other types of cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, and thyroid cancer. For more in­­for­ma­tion, please see the Exelixis press release and the clinical trial description.

KW-2478 Plus Velcade Shows Potent Anti-Myeloma Activity In Preclinical Study - Results from a recent preclinical study indicate that a com­bi­na­tion of the investigational drug KW-2478 with Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib) has potent anti-myeloma activity. KW-2478 belongs to a class of anti-myeloma drugs called Hsp90 inhibitors and is being developed by Japanese drug manu­­fac­­turer Kyowa Hakko Kirin. Other Hsp90 inhibitors which have been in­ves­ti­gated as potential myeloma treat­ments include ganetespib and tanespimycin.  In the recent study involving KW-2478, researchers found that the drug increased the ability of Velcade to kill myeloma cells. In mice, the com­bi­na­tion also reduced bone lesions and mono­clonal protein levels (M-spike) more effectively than either drug alone. According to the study investigators, these results strongly suggest that the com­bi­na­tion could be an effective treat­ment for multiple myeloma patients. For more in­­for­ma­tion, please refer to the study in the Blood Cancer Journal (abstract).

Purifying Plasma Cells From Bone Marrow Samples May Facilitate Detection of Chromosomal Abnormalities – Findings from a recent Dutch study suggest that chromosomal ab­nor­mal­i­ties in cancerous plasma cells may be easier to detect in purified plasma cell samples from bone marrow samples, as compared to unpurified (whole) marrow samples from myeloma patients. Previous studies have shown that certain chromosomal ab­nor­mal­i­ties in cancerous plasma cells can predict poorer myeloma prognosis. In this study, researchers could identify plasma cell chromosomal ab­nor­mal­i­ties in 96 per­cent of purified samples from bone marrow samples, as compared to 61 per­cent in unpurified samples. They argued that the low frequency of plasma cells in unpurified bone marrow samples hindered the detection of ab­nor­mal­i­ties. The researchers found that genetic material isolated from purified plasma cells could also be analyzed by molecular techniques to yield addi­tional in­­for­ma­tion about each patient's myeloma. For more in­­for­ma­tion, please see the study in Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer (abstract).

NewsFlash »

Phase 3 Trial To Compare Carfilzomib and Velcade For Relapsed Multiple Myeloma – On Monday, Onyx Pharmaceuticals announced the start of a Phase 3 trial comparing the safety and efficacy of its investigational drug carfilzomib (Kyprolis) to that of Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib). In particular, the trial will in­ves­ti­gate the efficacy and safety of car­filz­o­mib in com­bi­na­tion with dexamethasone (Decadron) versus Velcade plus dexa­meth­a­sone in patients who have received one to three prior lines of ther­apy. Carfilzomib is in the same class of drugs as Velcade, known as proteasome inhibitors. It is cur­rently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for potential approval as a new treat­ment for myeloma (see related Beacon news). For more in­­for­ma­tion, please see the Onyx Pharmaceuticals press release and the clinical trial description.

Phase 3 Trial Of MLN9708 Begins In Patients With Relapsed Or Refractory Myeloma – Millennium Pharmaceuticals, the com­pany that developed Velcade and markets the drug in the United States, announced last week the initiation of an inter­na­tional Phase 3 clinical trial of its investigational com­­pound MLN9708 (ixazomib) in patients with re­lapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The study will in­ves­ti­gate the efficacy and safety of MLN9708 in com­bi­na­tion with Revlimid (lena­lido­mide) and dexa­meth­a­sone. Like car­filz­o­mib and Velcade, MLN9708 is a proteasome inhibitor; however, it is admin­istered orally. In recent Phase 1/2 clinical trials, MLN9708 showed promising results as a single agent as well as in com­bi­na­tion with Revlimid and dexa­meth­a­sone in both newly diagnosed and re­lapsed/refractory myeloma patients (see related Beacon news). For more in­­for­ma­tion, please see the Millennium press release and the clinical trial description.

Researchers Identify Potential Reason For Drug Resistance In Some High-Risk Multiple Myeloma Patients – Researchers from the United States and Singapore have found that a small molecule of RNA called ACA11 may be the reason for drug resistance in multiple myeloma patients with the chromosomal ab­nor­mal­ity t(4;14). Specifically, the researchers found that ACA11 was present in all the cancer cells of patients with t(4;14). As the amount of ACA11 increased, levels of oxidative stress that damage cells went down, protecting cancer cells from damage. As a result, the cancer cells were more resistant to chemotherapy. Patients with t(4;14), which is a translocation of a region of chromosome 4 to chromosome 14, are considered high-risk patients (see related Beacon news). For more in­­for­ma­tion, please see the study in The Journal of Clinical Investigation and the Washington University in St. Louis press release.

Japanese Phase 1 Trial To Study Perifosine For Refractory Myeloma – The Canadian bio­tech com­pany Aeterna Zentaris announced last week that its partner in Japan, Yakult Honsha, has begun a Phase 1 clinical trial of perifosine (KRX-0401) in multiple myeloma patients who are resistant to Velcade treat­ment. The study will evaluate the safety of  perifosine in com­bi­na­tion with Velcade and dexa­meth­a­sone in 18 patients. Perifosine is an orally admin­istered drug that belongs to a new class of anti-cancer drugs called “Akt inhibitors.” In the United States, perifosine in com­bi­na­tion with Velcade and dexa­meth­a­sone is in Phase 3 trials for multiple myeloma (see related Beacon news). For more in­­for­ma­tion, please see the Aeterna Zentaris press release.

News»

This year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, which is being held in Chicago, began yesterday and goes through Tuesday.

The first of the myeloma-related sessions at this year's meeting began this morning with a poster session, in which important new research findings were summarized on posters throughout a large conference hall.

MLN9708

This morning’s session included two posters about MLN9708 (ixazomib), an oral drug that works similarly to Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib) and is being in­ves­ti­gated for the treat­ment of multiple myeloma as well as …

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[ by Sruti Krishna | May 21, 2012 11:03 am | 10 Comments ]

Results from a recent French study identified several factors that predict long-term survival of patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma. These prognostic factors include the absence of three key chromosomal abnormalities, low beta-2 microglobulin levels in the blood, and younger age.

The three key chromosomal abnormalities that were absent in patients who survived longer were a gain in chromosome 1 (called 1q gain), a translocation from chromosome 4 to 14 (called t(4;14)), and a deletion in chromosome 17 (called del(17p)). Patients who lived longer were also younger than 55 years of age …