Diana Castaneda
Latin News Agency for Medicine and Public Health
Today, research has been advancing rapidly to find an effective treatment that manages to combat multiple myeloma, a disease that to date has no cure.
During an interview for the Medicine and Public Health Magazine (MSP), Dr. Christian Rodríguez, oncologist hematologist and specialist in bone marrow transplantation and cell therapy, revealed that a type of cell therapy called CAR T, which aims to manipulate the immune system, is currently under investigation and that the first is expected. indication in late 2020 or early 2021.
“This type of cell therapy, which is somewhat new and soon to be approved by the FDA, tries to manipulate the cells of patients in such a way that now those T cells recognize the myeloma cell, and when they see these cells in the body stick to it, activating the cell that will destroy or eradicate multiple myeloma, ”explained the specialist.
The doctor emphasized that CAR T is a promising type of therapy, used in patients who have required an average of seven to eight lines of therapy, including bone marrow transplantation.
“It is something that is currently under investigation, but due to the positive cases in terms of transplantation of this type of therapy, it is something that we expected and anticipate that it will soon come with an approval to also use it as a tool in multiple myeloma,” said the doctor. Rodríguez.
Study reveals that 90% of multiple myeloma patients show improvement through cell therapy
In turn, specialists from the Clinic of the University of Navarra (CUN), announced that, according to the first results of the international clinical trial with CAR T cells (BB2121), in phase II, 90 percent of patients with myeloma Multiple, treated with cell therapy achieves “a very satisfactory response.”
This research, published in the digital media Spanish Foundation of the Digestive Apparatus, mentions that “new drugs have revolutionized treatment and have doubled or tripled the response rates and survival of these patients.”
In addition, they indicate that the studies are continuing and, that they are very active, with numerous clinical trials in progress that evaluate new combinations both in the first line and in relapse. Also, he has reported that there are a variety of new drugs and immunotherapy strategies such as CAR cells that are being evaluated.
The Clinic of the University of Navarra presented that all new drugs are beginning to be evaluated initially in relapse patients and, once they demonstrate efficacy at that level, they are progressing in the therapeutic scheme.
“In recent years, the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma has undergone a radical change. At least five new drugs have been approved that have improved patient prospects, thanks to very effective and well-tolerated treatments that significantly improve survival, “argued health professionals at CUN.
What is CAR T-cell therapy?
“We when we speak of multiple myeloma, we do not necessarily speak of curing or eradicating the disease. We want to try to control it for a longer time. It has been shown that if a drug is used and combined with bone marrow transplantation we can make remissions longer and more durable, and that is where medical treatment is combined with bone marrow transplant therapy, “said the Dr. Rodríguez to MSP.
For his part, American Cancer Society He says that when the immune system works normally, immune cells circulate throughout the body in search of elements that should not be present in the body, such as bacteria and viruses. These immune cells search for invaders through the use of “receptors,” which can be thought of as antennas or sensors. When receptors find invaders in the body, special immune cells kick in to destroy them. These special cells are called cytotoxic T cells.
Cancer cells hide so that they are not found by immune cells, and this is why cancer cells can grow out of control. Immunotherapy is a cancer treatment designed to make the body’s immune system capable of detecting and destroying cancer cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been a successful approach in immunotherapy because they propel the immune system to fight cancer at an accelerated rate.
However, CAR T-cell therapy is different. It is a type of immunotherapy called “adoptive cell immunotherapy.” As described by ASCO President and ASCO member Bruce E. Johnson, for cancer.org, “this technique allows doctors to genetically reprogram patients’ own immune cells to find and attack cancer cells throughout the body.” .
In CAR T-cell therapy, T cells are removed from a person and taken to the laboratory. Genetic changes are made in the T cells to attack the cancer cells. These CAR T cells are grown in large quantities and then injected into the patient. One of the remarkable characteristics of this treatment is that it is a “living therapy”. CAR T cells usually only need to be injected once as they continue to multiply in the body. CAR T cells continue to fight cancer in the patient’s body, and their effectiveness may even increase over time.
Unfortunately multiple myeloma is a condition that, although we would like to say that we have something to completely cure and eradicate the disease, the truth is that science has not led us to achieve that. However, we have many tools to keep the disease under control for a long time and so that patients do not suffer from the damage of this disease. Two years in medicine can mean significant changes and advances, and hopefully with the focus on the future we can have a cure for this disease, since the incidence of this disease is very high in the United States and is the number one indication for transplantation. of bone marrow in this country ”concluded the specialist in bone marrow transplantation and cell therapy.
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