Here's some publicity for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  They are putting on a webinar/phone conference call named "Myeloma: Progress in Treatment and Side Effect Management"

Tuesday March 23, 2010

10AM to 1130AM PDT

Melissa Alsina, M.D. and Kathy A. Daily, R.N. are the speakers

You can register by web at www.LLS.org/myelomaeducation or by phone at (866) 992-9950 x 304 by Monday March 22, 2010.

Podcast file: 

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3-4-10.mp3

Even though there is less absorption of the drug into the circulation, even topical diclofenac (Voltaren gel) has the potential to cause liver damage.

This was the subject of a "Dear Doctor" letter from the FDA in December 2009, and it was a topic highlighted by this month's Worst Pills.org.

Buzz is building around a monoclonal antibody known as CS1. The drug is also known as HuLuc63 and Elotuzumab. A research hematologist I spoke with today Dr. Januario Castro had recently returned from ASCO and was very excited about this new drug. He called it rituxan for myeloma and reported promising results and best activity of any new myeloma candidate so far. The drug appears to work by NK-mediated ADCC so says an article in Clinical Cancer Research in 2008.

Add green tea to the list of substances that interact with chemotherapy. Velcade also known as bortezomib is an important treatment for multiple myeloma. It seems to interact with green tea "products " according to a new report in the journal Blood. The report indicates that levels of polyphenols in green tea extracts could be high enough to interact with boron-containing medicine such as Velcade and researchers urge clinicians to warn patients against using these supplements if they are on this chemo treatment.

Multiple myeloma is a rare and dangerous bone and blood malignancy affecting thousands of Americans each year. The disease had minimal effective therapy until relatively recently with the advent of Thalomid its derivative drug Revlimid and the intravenous Velcade. These three medicines have altered the landscape of myeloma treatment. Myeloma is said to be "multiple" because of the bone fractures it can cause in multiple locations. Diagnosis is usually made on the basis of a bone marrow aspirate and blood tests.

Procrit in myeloma: thanks for nothing? Retrospective study of 323 patients: EPO users survived half as long