Treatment

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Are Transplants on the Decline?

Not long ago, the Bone Marrow, then the Peripheral Blood Stem Cell (PBSC) transplant were the key to achieving remissions when more traditional chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy had failed. Transplants are still an important option, the "big wrench" in the doctors toolbox. But using that tool carries risk. Up to 5% of patients die of the procedure due to complications. And there are after-effects like Host vs. Graft Disease which may require treatment.

Radioimmunotherapy - more promising than the long name

Radioimmunotherapy is the most promising treatment for lymphomas in many, many years. As I wrote earlier, monoclonal antibody breakthroughs allow a targeted approach to attacking cancer cells & leaving most healthy cells alone. Killing off the cancer cells often requires an extra punch. That's where the "radio-" part comes in. Using low dose isotopes of iodine or other elements attached to the antibody, it targets radiation right on top of the cancer cell and any other cancer cells in a very small area.

Food

Food . . . important to our very survival and yet something we often take for granted before lymphoma. Most lymphoma treatments tend to upset the digestive system - with chemo and radiation the hardest. Foods you loved you cannot tolerate while other foods become new friends. My boss still teases me for eating triscuit whole wheat crackers & cheese in a can but the crackers kept (keeps) me regular and the cheese helped the taste. There are good cancer cookbooks that help with cooking during cancer.

Preventing Heart Attacks in Lymphoma Patients Treated with Radiation

I have been corresponding with Dr. Mortimer Lacher, author of _the_ book on surviving Hodgkin's, "Hodgkin's Disease: The Consequences of Survival". Today he is a key member of The Lymphoma Foundation in the US. In an important commentary article, Dr. Lacher notes:

Expanding use of Bexxar for NHL

The new year may dawn with the US FDA allowing expanded use of the NHL drug Bexxar. Currently Bexxar is used for the treatment of patients with CD20-positive, follicular NHL, with and without transformation, whose disease is refractory to the antibody treatment Rituximab and has relapsed following chemotherapy. The expansion would allow for treating the same forms of NHL and after standard chemo relapse but would not require prior treatment with Rituxan. Good news given the cost of treatments for cancer, not having to have expensive Rituxan treatments would be good news indeed.

New Mantle Cell Treatment on US FDA Fast Track

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the drug VELCADE (bortezomib) fast track designation for relapsed and refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). MCL is an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) which accounts for approximately six percent of all lymphomas. Currently, VELCADE is being evaluated as a single agent in a multicenter Phase II clinical trial for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma. It is expected that interim data from the trial will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in 2005.

Rituxan and Hepatitis B

A couple weeks ago, US regulators posted a letter stating Rituxan, a Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma monoclonal antibody treatment, can reactivate hepatitis B virus in patients who have already had the disease.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has posted
new information highlighting this risk. It is said some patients had suffered liver failure or died after rituxan administration.

Childhood Hodgkin's: To Radiate or Not?

Radiation has been used to battle lymphoma, especially Hodgkin's, for decades. The risks are now well documented. In kids, it can prevent growth, affect the heart, and increase the risk for secondary cancers. But thinking in the medical community was the risk is worth it if it caused the cancer to go into remission.

What are the new drugs like monoclonal antibodies?

The last 5 years has been the most active period in lymphoma drug development since the use of ABVD and CHOP chemo for Hodgkin's & NHL respectively. This is due to understanding the structure of the cancerous cells and developing treatments targeting the cancer. These treatments are called monoclonal antibodies. Using the mechanism that our own bodies use to attack cells, specially developed antibodies attach to antigens on the cancer cells. Then the bodies immune system can destroy the cell. Rituxan was the first of the antibodies developed and its use continues to grow in trials.

Treatments for the Older Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Patient

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is offering a free telephone workshop entitled: Treatment for the Older Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Patient.