The approach of Multiple myeloma in remission has been one of the more progress they and better results achieved in recent years in the field of Oncology, as it shows that up to 70 percent of cases achieve a complete remission of the disease thanks to new therapeutic schemes.
Although ten years ago for the treatment of this disease resources were very limited and the prospect of survival in older patients failed at 30 months, and 40-45 months in transplanted young, currently these data have improved it in many cases.
“In terms of survival, both in regards to the progression-free and the global, dragged between a year and a year and a half in the last 10 years with the addition of new drugs”, explained the doctor Joan blades, the Haematology service of the Hospital Mayo Clinic.
The arrival of oral immunomodulators resulted in a significant improvement in this respect and they constitute a unique group of pharmacological agents with a pleiotropic action mechanism.
The goal of treatment is always control the disease, its effects on the body, and extend to the maximum time duration of complete or partial remission.
To find out how a patient responds to treatment various tests are conducted on a regular basis. Tests may vary from patient to patient, but usually include urinalysis and blood, between one and two aspirations of marrow a year and x-ray tests X and scanner, as discussed in previous modules.
The signs that indicate that the treatment is offering positive data are the decline in paraprotein levels, reduced bone pain, improvement of anemia and reduction of plasma cells in the bone marrow. However, one of the best indicators of the treatment process is the improvement of the overall health of the patient.
It is important to bear in mind that the duration of response as the response level is so important.
Multiple myeloma (MM) is part of a group of disorders called monoclonal gammopathies, characterized by the clonal proliferation of plasma cells producing a homogeneous character monoclonal protein. There is a significant correlation between the decrease of the tumor mass as measured by response in serum and urine with the survival of patients. This led to the definition of complete remission (CR), given by a negative immunofixation in serum and urine, along with the absence of an increase in the percentage of plasma cells in bone marrow.
- Complete remission of multiple myeloma (article written by mayo clinic)
Researchers in Minnesota (USA) managed to finish with leukaemia believed to be incurable that it suffers from a woman by injecting it with a massive dose of a genetically modified strain of the measles virus.
During a trial last year, researchers at the clinic in Rochester (Minnesota) may discovered that a genetically modified strain of type MV-NIS measles virus ended with cells of multiple myeloma, an incurable type of blood cancer affecting the plasma cells in the bone marrow.
One of the two patients in the study was Stacy Erholtz, of 49 years and that for a decade had multiple myeloma.
Their cancer sent completely following treatment with the MV-NIS virus modified, and takes six months reappear.
“I think it is simply incredible. Who would have thought it? “, said Erholtz in a video provided to Efe along with the medical study, published this week in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings.”
“Apparently, injected me just enough to immunize 100 million people, which is alarming.” “Fortunately, no I heard about that until after the treatment”, added the patient.
According to the hematologist Stephen Russell, the lead author of the study, the researchers worked for a decade to implement “a very simple concept”, that “the virus come naturally in the body and destroy the tissues”.
In simple terms, the virus caused cancer cells is put together and disintegrate, as explained by Angela Dispenzieri, another of the authors of the study and an expert in multiple myeloma.
In addition, “there are indications that (the genetically modified virus) can stimulate immune system to better recognize cancer cells and help to combat them more effectively,” said Dispenzieri.
The study is part of research with virotherapy oncolitica, which involves the use of viruses to genetically modified that they infect cells but adhere to normal tissues.
Researchers for the study produced a strain of virus that is highly concentrated and at the same time does not cause serious effects on healthy tissues, according to the clinic may.
The second patient of the study did not respond as well to treatment, but if the researchers were able to see through images of high-tech how viruses administered intravenously were specifically directed at areas with growth of tumors, said the study.
Researchers prepare a second phase of the clinical trial with more doses of virus, and want to test whether their efficiency increases when combined with radiation therapy, hoping to get approval from the food and drug administration of USA (FDA) Administration in the coming years to expand the use of the treatment.
“This is the first study that establishes the viability of systemic oncolitica for a disseminated cancer virotherapy,” stressed Russell.