Old and new drugs may fight myeloma.Two therapies may improve survival chances of people with a bone marrow cancer called multiple myeloma. At the least, they could delay the day when patients need to undergo a bone marrow transplant bone marrow transplant: see bone marrow. , a harsh procedure that carries lethal risks, say researchers. A team at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., reports that 6 of 16 patients with no outward symptoms of their multiple myeloma improved after treatment with the drug thalidomide thalidomide (thəlĭd`əmĭd'), sleep-inducing drug found to produce skeletal defects in developing fetuses. The drug was marketed in Europe, especially in West Germany and Britain, from 1957 to 1961, and was thought to be so safe that . Moreover, 20 of 26 patients with worsening cases of the disease showed gains after receiving thalidomide with dexamethasone dexamethasone /dex·a·meth·a·sone/ (dek?sah-meth´ah-son) a synthetic glucocorticoid used primarily as an antiinflammatory in various conditions, including collagen diseases and allergic states; it is the basis of a screening test in the , a steroid often administered in such cases, reports S. Vincent Rajkumar, a hematologist he·ma·tol·o·gist n. A physician specializing in hematology. Hematologist A medical specialist who treats diseases and disorders of the blood and blood-forming organs. at the clinic. The researchers classified patients as improved if, after four monthly treatments, they showed normal concentrations of the white blood cells White blood cells A group of several cell types that occur in the bloodstream and are essential for a properly functioning immune system. Mentioned in: Abscess Incision & Drainage, Bone Marrow Transplantation, Complement Deficiencies called plasma cells. Most countries banned thalidomide decades ago because, when taken during pregnancy, it causes birth defects by restricting blood flow to the fetus. This property also stymies growth of tumor cells (SN: 11/20/99, p. 326), making it a potential weapon against cancer, Rajkumar says. Taking another approach, researchers are examining a new drug called PS-341. It interferes with proteasomes, molecules in cells that are responsible for clearing out damaged proteins. This interference induces programmed cell death pro·grammed cell death n. See apoptosis. programmed cell death proposed system of cell death, often including poly(ADP)-ribosylation, ensures that a cell will not survive if it is so badly damaged that its recovery would harm the , or apoptosis. Animal studies have established that cancerous bone marrow cells are particularly vulnerable to the drug, reports Robert Z. Orlowski of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Also known as The University of North Carolina, Carolina, North Carolina, or simply UNC . Orlowski and his colleagues gave PS-341, also called LDP-341, to three people with multiple myeloma. Two showed little gain, but the third remains free of detectable cancer cells more than 3 months after receiving four treatments of the drug. A single patient's recovery doesn't prove a drug works, but it indicates that the biological mechanism of PS-341 might be useful against this and other cancers, Orlowski says. Millenium Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Mass., plans further tests. |
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