ZOLINZA® (vorinostat) in Combination with Bortezomib Showed Clinical Response in Early Investigational Studies of Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that a new combination of medications designed to maximize immune functions improved or stabilized multiple myeloma for 76 percent of patients who had relapsed after previous treatment.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of plasma cells that affects approximately 3 in 100,000 people each year. Although there is no cure for this disease, researchers have developed treatments that help relieve pain, control complications, and slow the progress of MM in many patients.

Mayo Clinic researchers today presented results of a phase II trial of myeloma induction therapy -- a first step therapy designed to reduce cancer cells numbers -- with cyclophosphamide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (Cybor-D) showing an improved response over the traditional lenalidomide-dexamethasone (L-Dex) therapy.

Results from two investigational Phase I trials of ZOLINZA® (vorinostat) in combination with bortezomib provide preliminary anti-tumor activity in patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma. Data from one study showed that 10 of 21 (48 percent) evaluable patients had a partial or minimal response from the ZOLINZA and bortezomib combination treatment.

Results of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Phase III clinical trial E4A03, for multiple myeloma, showing significantly better overall survival with lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone therapy compared to lenalidomide plus high-dose dexamethasone, were reported today by S. Vincent Rajkumar, M.D. at the American Society of Hematology’s annual meeting.

Pairing a new thalidomide derivative with a steroid slows progress of multiple myeloma, an incurable bone marrow cancer, and prolongs the lives of patients who have relapsed from previous treatment, researchers report in the Nov. 22 New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania announced today that findings from two large, international clinical trials show unprecedented survival for patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer that occurs in the blood-making cells of bone marrow.

Multiple myeloma patients vary widely in how they respond to treatment, but now researchers at the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have identified a small subset of genes whose activity could predict high-risk cases and potentially guide therapy in the future.

Researchers at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute are the first to discover a mechanism that plays a critical role in the multiple myeloma cell cycle and survival. Their research may result in identification of a new therapeutic target for treating multiple myeloma.

Two new studies may lead to the development of more effective therapies for individuals with multiple myeloma (MM), a common and incurable blood cell cancer.

Moffitt clinical director part of National Myeloma Forum recommending additional studies that further evaluate new front-line oral Revlimid treatment combinations as an alternative to stem cell transplant in newly diagnosed patients