Steroid pill prolongs survival in patients with multip...( LOS ANGELES CA (May 1 2002) Research...),Health

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 1, 2002) Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center report that treatment with a steroid pill improves the overall survival of patients with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. The study, published in the May 1st issue of the journal, Blood, shows that patients who received oral prednisone over the long term following treatment with chemotherapy maintained their remission and survived longer. Multiple myeloma strikes about 14,000 people in the United States each year.

We found that using prednisone following a response to up-front chemotherapy was an effective and safe way to prolong the lives of patients, said James Berenson, M.D., lead author of the Southwest Oncology Group sponsored study and Director of the Multiple Myeloma and Bone Metastasis Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. This is the first clear demonstration that long term treatment following an initial response to chemotherapy improves the survival of patients with multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma occurs when the body makes an abnormally high number of cancerous plasma cells. When healthy, plasma cells help to protect the body from infection and disease by forming antibodies that attack foreign substances. But when the body makes too many plasma cells that all make the same type of antibody, this leads to multiple myeloma, causing damage to bones, severe bone pain, an overabundance of calcium in the blood, anemia, and a weakening of the immune system. Today, most patients with multiple myeloma receive initial treatment with chemotherapy or with high-dose chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant and many respond to treatment and achieve remission. However, all patients ultimately relapse with incurable disease, leading physicians to search for ways to prolong remission for as long as possible by using some type of maintenance therapy.

Although some studies have shown that interferon (an antiviral drug) slightly
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Contact: Kelli Stauning
kelli.stauning@cshs.org
310-423-3674
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
2-May-2002

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