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View Full Version : Would this also apply or help us with GPA? The radioisotopes part?



drz
01-28-2012, 05:11 PM
Rituxan®, a monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated moderate anti-cancer activity in mantle cell lymphoma. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that can be made in the laboratory and are designed to recognize and bind to very specific cells. Rituxan® is a monoclonal antibody that binds to proteins on the surface of B-lymphocytes. This binding action stimulates the immune system to attack and kill the cancerous B-cells. A significant benefit of this approach is that Rituxan® only targets cancer cells (B-cells), thus sparing healthy cells from destruction. This is in contrast to chemotherapy or radiation, which do not differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells in the body, a characteristic leading to potentially destructive side effects.
Recently, researchers have been linking radioisotopes to monoclonal antibodies in an attempt to augment anti-cancer effects. This type of treatment uses two separate strategies to target and kill cancer cells.

High-Dose Radioactive Labeled Rituxan® Effective for Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma
According to results recently published in the journal Cancer, treatment with high dose Rituxan® linked to iodine-131 followed by an autologous stem cell transplant appears to produce significant anti-cancer activity in patients with mantle cell lymphoma that has stopped responding to standard therapies.

Mantle cell lymphoma is an especially aggressive type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with an unfavorable prognosis. Patients with mantle cell lymphoma have a 5 year survival rate of less than 20%. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is a cancer of the lymph tissue, which is part of the body’s immune system. Lymph tissue is present in lymph nodes, lymph vessels and bone marrow, which exist throughout the body. It is also present in organs such as the thymus, tonsils and spleen. The main cells in the lymph system are called lymphocytes, of which there are 2 types: B and T-cells. Each of these cells has a specific function in aiding the body to fight infection. The large majority of NHL cases involve cancer of the B-lymphocytes, characterized by the excessive accumulation of these atypical cells. These cancerous cells can crowd the lymph tissue, thereby causing suppression of normal formation and function of other cells necessary for normal immune functions. While NHL is categorized by the type of lymphocyte it involves, it is also further defined by the specific appearance of the affected cells, as well the grade of the disease (how fast it is likely to grow). These determinations are based on how the cells look under a microscope. In terms of NHL grade, high-grade or aggressive NHL is the fastest growing.
Although mantle cell lymphoma may respond to initial therapy, the majority of patients ultimately experience a recurrence of their cancer. Once the cancer has stopped responding to standard therapies (refractory disease), patients are left with limited treatment options. This has prompted researchers to evaluate novel therapeutic approaches in patients with refractory NHL in order to improve survival.

Rituxan®, a monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated moderate anti-cancer activity in mantle cell lymphoma. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that can be made in the laboratory and are designed to recognize and bind to very specific cells. Rituxan® is a monoclonal antibody that binds to proteins on the surface of B-lymphocytes. This binding action stimulates the immune system to attack and kill the cancerous B-cells. A significant benefit of this approach is that Rituxan® only targets cancer cells (B-cells), thus sparing healthy cells from destruction. This is in contrast to chemotherapy or radiation, which do not differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells in the body, a characteristic leading to potentially destructive side effects.

Recently, researchers have been linking radioisotopes to monoclonal antibodies in an attempt to augment anti-cancer effects. This type of treatment uses two separate strategies to target and kill cancer cells. Radioactive isotopes are unstable molecules that spontaneously emit forms of radiation. Thus, when the monoclonal antibody binds to the cancer cells, the attached radioisotope destroys the cells by emission of its radiation. This type of treatment not only provides two separate treatment strategies, but also allows the delivery of greater amounts of radiation to the cancer cells while minimizing radiation exposure to normal cells.

Researchers from Germany recently conducted a small clinical trial evaluating high-dose therapy consisting of Rituxan® linked to the radioisotope iodine-131 followed by an autologous stem cell transplant in seven patients with refractory mantle cell lymphoma. All patients had a cancer recurrence following previous treatment with high-dose chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant, and were no longer responding to chemotherapy. Following therapy with Rituxan®/iodine-131, six patients experienced a complete disappearance of cancer (complete remission) and one patient experienced significant anti-cancer activity (partial remission). Five patients are still in complete remission and six are alive at over three years following therapy.

Cancer, treatment with high dose Rituxan® linked to iodine-131 followed by an autologous stem cell transplant appears to produce significant anti-cancer activity in patients with mantle cell lymphoma that has stopped responding to standard therapies.

Although mantle cell lymphoma may respond to initial therapy, the majority of patients ultimately experience a recurrence of their cancer. Once the cancer has stopped responding to standard therapies (refractory disease), patients are left with limited treatment options. This has prompted researchers to evaluate novel therapeutic approaches in patients with refractory NHL in order to improve survival.
Rituxan®, a monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated moderate anti-cancer activity in mantle cell lymphoma. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins that can be made in the laboratory and are designed to recognize and bind to very specific cells. Rituxan® is a monoclonal antibody that binds to proteins on the surface of B-lymphocytes. This binding action stimulates the immune system to attack and kill the cancerous B-cells. A significant benefit of this approach is that Rituxan® only targets cancer cells (B-cells), thus sparing healthy cells from destruction. This is in contrast to chemotherapy or radiation, which do not differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells in the body, a characteristic leading to potentially destructive side effects.

Recently, researchers have been linking radioisotopes to monoclonal antibodies in an attempt to augment anti-cancer effects. This type of treatment uses two separate strategies to target and kill cancer cells. Radioactive isotopes are unstable molecules that spontaneously emit forms of radiation. Thus, when the monoclonal antibody binds to the cancer cells, the attached radioisotope destroys the cells by emission of its radiation. This type of treatment not only provides two separate treatment strategies, but also allows the delivery of greater amounts of radiation to the cancer cells while minimizing radiation exposure to normal cells.

Researchers from Germany recently conducted a small clinical trial evaluating high-dose therapy consisting of Rituxan® linked to the radioisotope iodine-131 followed by an autologous stem cell transplant in seven patients with refractory mantle cell lymphoma. All patients had a cancer recurrence following previous treatment with high-dose chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant, and were no longer responding to chemotherapy. Following therapy with Rituxan®/iodine-131, six patients experienced a complete disappearance of cancer (complete remission) and one patient experienced significant anti-cancer activity (partial remission). Five patients are still in complete remission and six are alive at over three years following therapy. Two patients have had a cancer recurrence; one at three months following therapy and one at 26 months following therapy. Side effects were mild to moderate.

The researchers conducting this trial concluded that high-dose Rituxan® plus iodine-131 followed by an autologous stem cell transplant appears to produce high anti-cancer response rates with moderate side effects in patients with refractory mantle cell lymphoma. Although this trial was small, these results warrant further clinical trials to evaluate this therapeutic approach in patients with refractory mantle cell lymphoma, as few effective treatment options exist for this group of patients. Patients with mantle cell lymphoma may wish to speak with their physicians about the risks and benefits of participating in a clinical trial further evaluating high-dose Rituxan® plus iodine-131 or other therapeutic approaches. Two sources of information regarding ongoing clinical trials include the National Cancer Institute.

Chris G
01-29-2012, 01:40 AM
I don't know the answer as to whether this will help us. But I thought I'd share what my ENT told me yesterday. He said that we're now in the "mab" age...... with the advancements and research in "mab" therapies..... monocolonal antibodies.....he feels that we should have some really great treatments for AI diseases in 5-10 years. He went so far as to use the word "cure".....although I think that's a bit of a stretch.

freakyschizogirl
01-29-2012, 02:22 AM
.....he feels that we should have some really great treatments for AI diseases in 5-10 years. He went so far as to use the word "cure".....although I think that's a bit of a stretch.

Be sure to remind him of that in 5-10 years then!

They said in the 60's they'd have a cure for everything by today and we'd all have flying cars and colonised the moon but as far as i can see that hasnt happened either.
Dont get me wrong there are fabulous medical break throughs coming all the time i just cant seen a cure for an AI disease.

delorisdoe
01-29-2012, 02:41 AM
I think that would depend on how you look at it. Cancer does not have a cure but they find ways to put some peoples cancer into remission sometimes forever. If they find a way to put most peoples AI deseases into remmission forever than for some people they will be cured. This to me does not seem impossible. I would assume some would never reach remission no matter what the treatment but I have known women who had breast cancer and 30 years later they are still cancer free. Id say they were cured even though there is no real "cure" so to speak for cancer. O my gosh I really do ramble on and make not a lot of sense. I try. :rolleyes1:

Dirty Don
01-29-2012, 03:18 AM
The only thing I know to date about using radio isotopes is when the wife lost her thyroid...completely. Docs found some cancer cells in it, decided to take it out completely, then 'nuked' her to make sure it didn't/hadn't spread. I've never seen someone so physically down for about 6 months. She's high energy, but the nuke took it out of her completely. The good news: it worked. The bad news: really hard on the body. As I was told when I came on here with my limited disease: if you can survive the drugs, you may survive GPA! Ha! Doing both so far! Go Mayo!

drz
01-29-2012, 03:46 PM
Just wondering if adding the radioactive isotopes is something they might use for GPA too? Would it help kill the bad cells that RTX targets? What would the down side be for adding the iodine 131?

My wife and I have both had RTX treatment in the past for different reasons. She has lymphoma and this is the treatment Mayo is recommending now.

Al
01-30-2012, 09:05 AM
Well, the "mab" drugs can, in theory, be designed to target anything that can be defined, and they can carry with them radio isotopes for increased lethal potency. But here's the thing: Though RTX does indeed target the B cells (specifically, the plasma effector B cells), those B cells are not exactly defective, in the sense that cancer cells are defective. (Cancer cells have a mutation that allows them to reproduce endlessly; WG B cells are clean, so far as their DNA is concerned.) Rather, they are trained to produce specific antibodies. So, the WG B cells are just doing their job. It's just that their job is not so good for the body as a whole. Radio isotope tagging me increase the power of the RTX to do its job--to wipe out those B cells, but it is not clear that this is totally a good thing. We do need some antibody production, after all.

Al

drz
02-03-2012, 04:19 PM
The little info out on this therapy suggests it is very helpful for some types of lymphoma that have not benefited from regular RTX therapy or other conventional treatments. Increased survival rate, long periods of remission, and very little side effects are some of anticipated claims. Hope it all proves to be true.

Lightwarrior
02-07-2012, 09:23 AM
I think that would depend on how you look at it. Cancer does not have a cure but they find ways to put some peoples cancer into remission sometimes forever. If they find a way to put most peoples AI deseases into remmission forever than for some people they will be cured. This to me does not seem impossible. I would assume some would never reach remission no matter what the treatment but I have known women who had breast cancer and 30 years later they are still cancer free. Id say they were cured even though there is no real "cure" so to speak for cancer. O my gosh I really do ramble on and make not a lot of sense. I try. :rolleyes1:

Oh my gosh Leigh, what does it say about me when you make sense?? (LOL)