2023-06-05 19:06:00
It is a promising remedy for a disease that is now incurable. A new treatment would reduce the risk of progression of multiple myeloma, a rare type of blood cancer, by 74%, according to the results of a study published on Monday. Ciltacabbtagen autoleucel – also known by its trade name Carvykti – a treatment that involves genetically modifying the body’s immune cells, has been tested in a clinical trial involving 419 patients with multiple myeloma whose disease did not respond to treatment with generally prescribed chemotherapy.
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the blood that affects a type of white blood cells called plasma cells and can cause cascading damage to bones, kidneys and the immune system. It affects 7 in 100,000 people each year, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The risk increases with age, with men and black people being more likely to be affected. There is currently no cure, although progression can be slowed or halted for a long time.
Carvykti involves removing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells from the patient and genetically modifying them in a lab so that they have specific proteins called receptors that can seek out and destroy cancer cells.
In the clinical trial, half of the patients received Carvykti, and the other half a cocktail of drugs commonly prescribed today, including chemotherapy and steroids. “After a median follow-up of 16 months, the researchers found that the new treatment reduced the risk of disease progression by 74%, compared to the standard treatments,” said a press release.
The long-term effects scrutinized
Carvykti “offers remarkably effective results compared to current patient options” and “can be used safely earlier in the treatment phase,” oncologist Oreofe Odejide explained at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cancer. medical oncology, where the results were presented, who did not participate in this study. If the use of chemotherapy treatment “has spread, so has the number of patients whose disease no longer responds to treatment”, added Oreofe Odejide.
During the clinical trial, the number of serious to life-threatening adverse events was slightly higher in the group that received Carvykti than in the other (97% versus 94%), three-quarters of them having suffered from an excessive immune reaction and about 5% of them from a neurotoxicity syndrome. The researchers will continue to follow all of these patients to determine the long-term effects and impact on the quality of life of these treatments. The clinical trial was funded by Janssen Research & Development and Legend Biotech USA.
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