Lenalidomide + Dex for multiple myeloma
Researchers Discover Improved Treatment Option for Patients with Multiple Myeloma
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ATLANTA, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study shows that when lenalidomide -- a drug related to thalidomide -- is combined with the standard treatment for multiple myeloma, the treatment results are far superior than using the standard drug alone, according to a study to be presented today during the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).
"Thalidomide became infamous 45 years ago because it can cause serious birth defects. However, recently it has become an effective standard treatment for patients with multiple myeloma," said James N. George, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and
President of ASH. "This led the way for development of lenalidomide, which may be even more effective than thalidomide and also better tolerated."
Each year, approximately 15,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable and painful disease of the bone marrow.
Traditional therapy for patients whose multiple myeloma has either relapsed or is resistant to treatment is the high-dose steroid dexamethasone. In this double-blind trial, 351 of these patients were given dexamethasone in addition
to either lenalidomide or placebo.
The overall response rate for those on lenalidomide plus dexamethasone was much greater (58 percent) than those taking dexamethasone plus placebo (22percent).
The patients on the combination treatment also had more than a year before their cancer began to recur, while those taking dexamethasone aloneaveraged only five months before their cancer progressed.
In general, treatment with lenalidomide and dexamethasone proved to be as safe as taking dexamethasone alone, with two notable differences in side effects. Extremely low white blood cell counts were experienced by 16.5 percent of the combination therapy group compared to only 1 percent of those
on dexamethasone alone, and blood clots occurred with nearly twice the frequency as those on the placebo regimen (8.5 percent versus 4.5 percent).
According to senior study author Meletios Dimopoulos, M.D., professor and chairman, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece, "The results of the study are extremely promising.
Not only should the combination of lenalidomide and dexamethasone be used for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, as was shown to be safe and effective here, it should be studied in previously untreated patients as well.
This regimen could become the new gold standard for all multiple myeloma patients."
The American Society of Hematology (http://www.hematology.org) is the world's
largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment,and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic,
hemostatic, and vascular systems, by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology.
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