A phase 1b study of isatuximab plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma’ is a study intended to assess the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab given in 2 different regimens in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone. The study included 57 patients in total with a confirmed diagnosis of multiple myeloma...Continue Reading
This week’s Article of the Week is a study that was recently published in the British Journal of Haematology on the role of serum IgM levels as a predictor of symptomatic hyperviscosity in Waldenström’s macroglobulinaemia (WM). Gustine et al’s paper ‘Serum IgM level as predictor of symptomatic hyper viscosity in patients with Waldenström macroglobulinaemia’ is based on the premise that...Continue Reading
About 400 New Zealanders a year are diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma, and the number is rising. A malignancy of the plasma cell, it led to destruction of the body’s defence mechanisms, and was the second most common blood cancer being treated in this country, after Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Survival with the cancer had...Continue Reading
This review discusses pre-clinical and clinical studies on the use of monoclonal antibodies in multiple myeloma, including agents which have been shown to have no activity against myeloma cells. It outlines various agents and their specific targets, focusing particularly on those agents with strong evidence in clinical trials. This review highlights the benefits of immunotherapy...Continue Reading
On November 22, 2016 in Wellington a group of New Zealand based hematology specialists led by Kenneth Romeril launched a new initiative for multiple myeloma patients, Multiplemyeloma.org.nz. Why? All too often when diagnosed with life threatening disease, patients turn to Dr Google to find out all they can. More often than not it’s not local information...Continue Reading
