Tackle Cancer Foundation calls attention to REVLIMID for myeloma patients

Tackle Cancer FoundationDec 18 2009

The TACKLE CANCER FOUNDATION wants to call attention to important news for patients with the blood cancer multiple myeloma. A new study shows patients benefit from daily medical treatments to keep their cancer in check after they have had a stem cell (bone marrow) transplant. The current standard of care is to give patients the transplant and then hold off on additional treatment until they relapse. The new study shows continuous treatment with the oral drug REVLIMID following the transplant significantly prolongs remission, increasing time to disease progression.

Continuous treatment is made possible by new types of cancer treatments that are more tolerable than traditional chemotherapy. REVLIMID in particular does not cause neuropathy, a painful condition that can limit the use of other drug treatments. This study, sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, shows that half of the patients who did not get continuous treatment after transplant relapsed or worsened after just over two years. But in the group of patients who got a transplant followed by continuous REVLIMID, more than half still remain in remission.

“I know first hand what this new approach to treatment could mean to patients,” said Elijah Alexander, founder of the Tackle Cancer Foundation (TCF), former NFL linebacker, and myeloma survivor himself. “I was diagnosed when I was 35 years old, I was given a stem cell transplant and then doctors gave me no treatment until my cancer came out of remission. It was only after the myeloma returned that I was given REVLIMID. It changed my life. I can let the pills fight the cancer while I live an active lifestyle. I am able to manage my foundation, follow my young sons who play football and baseball, and still be an active husband as well. I continue on a new drug, a relative of REVLIMID, to this day.”

The study supporting continuous oral treatment follows a study presented earlier this month at the international blood cancer conference “ASH,” showing patients benefit from continuous oral therapy following initial treatment with a combination of drugs, melphalan-prednisone and REVLIMID. Other studies have also shown survival benefits at three years and beyond using continuous REVLIMID, and long-term benefits from maintenance with another new targeted drug, VELCADE^®.

Elijah added, “This is a new era for cancer treatment that has changed dramatically in just the four years since I was diagnosed. I encourage all myeloma patients to discuss these new options with their doctors.”