How patients will respond to immunomodulator therapy for multiple myeloma

December 11, 2011 in Cancer

Research on the same protein that was a primary mediator of the birth defects caused by thalidomide now holds hope in the battle against multiple myeloma, says the study's senior investigator, Keith Stewart, M.B., Ch.B. of Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Dr. Stewart presented the results at the 53rd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Diego.

The drug thalidomide achieved infamy in the early 1960s as the cause of severe birth defects after being given to pregnant mothers for morning sickness. However, this drug, along with the highly related compounds and pomalidomide, also help to treat , and are used worldwide as a cornerstone of therapy for the bone marrow cancer multiple myeloma. These drugs modulate the immune system and together are called immunomodulators or IMiDs.

The exact mechanisms and targets through which these therapies work to enhance immune response or kill have been largely unknown. As a result, knowing which patients to treat and how to separate out the positive properties of these drugs from side effects has been impossible.

After recent research identified a protein known as cereblon as a primary mediator of the birth defects caused by thalidomide, researchers theorized that cereblon may also orchestrate the anti-tumor properties and be the primary for multiple myeloma.

In this study, researchers tested the theory and found a possible link between resistance to IMiDs and presence of cereblon. The researchers then found that lowering the level of cereblon allows the IMiDs to work properly.

"Interestingly, some resistant patients had normal cereblon levels, suggesting that while cereblon may be an absolute requirement for response, there are likely other mechanisms present that play a role in ," says Dr. Stewart. "These findings help us understand which patients may be more or less likely to respond to therapy and allow us to focus on other ways we can target cereblon as a possible biomarker to improve treatment and patient outcomes in . This work also suggests that we can begin to dissect out the cause of birth defects from the anti-cancer properties and develop safer drugs in the future."

Provided by Mayo Clinic search and more info website

5 /5 (1 vote)  

Rank 5 /5 (1 vote)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Potential Breakthrough in Seizure Control
    created18 hours ago
  • Popping/Cracked sternum.
    created23 hours ago
  • Which Mental Illness Encompasses This Problem?
    created23 hours ago
  • A question about drug tolerance
    createdMay 23, 2012
  • Poor nutrition leading to overeating?
    createdMay 23, 2012
  • Math and dyslexia?
    createdMay 21, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences

More news stories

Skp2 activates cancer-promoting, glucose-processing Akt

HER2 and its epidermal growth factor receptor cousins mobilize a specialized protein to activate a major player in cancer development and sugar metabolism, scientists report in the May 25 issue of Cell.

Cancer created May 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Pancreatectomy OK without downstaging from therapy

(HealthDay) -- Pancreatectomy improves median survival in pancreatic cancer patients even when presurgical neoadjuvant therapy does not lead to radiographic downstaging of tumors, according to a study published ...

Cancer created May 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Common therapies for basal cell carcinoma offer similar survival

(HealthDay) -- For patients with superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), treatment with imiquimod or photodynamic therapy (PDT) results in similar long-term tumor-free survival, according to a review published ...

Cancer created May 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought

Chromosomal deletions in DNA often involve just one of two gene copies inherited from either parent. But scientists haven't known how a deletion in one gene from one parent, called a "hemizygous" deletion, can contribute ...

Cancer created May 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New prostate cancer screening guidelines face a tough sell, study suggests

(Medical Xpress) -- Recent recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advising elimination of routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer in healthy men are likely to encounter ...

Cancer created May 25, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1


Keep food safety in mind this memorial day weekend

(HealthDay) -- Picnics, parades and cookouts are as much a part of Memorial Day weekend as tributes to the United States' war veterans.

Travel to high altitudes tied to Crohn's, colitis flare-ups

(HealthDay) -- People with inflammatory bowel disease, which includes Crohn's disease and colitis, may be at increased risk for flare-ups when they fly or travel to high altitudes for skiing or mountain climbing, ...

Family history of Alzheimer's affects functional connectivity

(HealthDay) -- Cognitively normal individuals with a family history of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) may display lower resting state functional connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) of the brain, ...

Transvaginal mesh op restores pelvic organ prolapse at price

(HealthDay) -- Transvaginal mesh (TVM) procedures are effective for anatomical restoration of pelvic organ prolapse (POP), but patients report a worsening of sexual function following surgery, according to ...

Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse

(Medical Xpress) -- Regardless of an organism’s biological complexity, every encephalized animal continuously makes under-informed behavioral choices that can have serious consequences. Despite its ubiquity, ...

Weight struggles? Blame new neurons in your hypothalamus

New nerve cells formed in a select part of the brain could hold considerable sway over how much you eat and consequently weigh, new animal research by Johns Hopkins scientists suggests in a study published in the May issue ...