From Miguel Islas-Ohlmayer, MD, hematologist, blood and marrow transplant specialist, and cellular therapy specialist at OHC
March 20, 2019
Miguel Islas-Ohlmayer, MD, Medical Oncologist, Hematologist, and Transplant Specialist at OHC
At OHC, our blood and marrow transplant specialists are bringing significant advancements for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
With the approval of new drugs that target the disease much more precisely, OHC offers these drugs for patients whose multiple myeloma has returned or hasn’t responded to other treatments. Daratumumab (Darzalex) and Elotuzumab (Empliciti) are two new drugs that help the body’s immune system destroy multiple myeloma cells. Ixazomib (Ninlaro) interferes with the cancer cells’ ability to grow and thrive inside your body. And the best part is that it’s a pill taken once a week at home.
In a ground-breaking move, OHC introduced adults in the region who have specific blood cancers to the newest, most exciting advancement in the treatment of cancer: chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T). It’s currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma, and is only available at OHC. Based on results from two early trials, CAR-T has the potential to be effective in patients with multiple myeloma. If CAR-T continues to demonstrate positive results and receives FDA approval, it could be available at OHC for patients with multiple myeloma as early as next year.
Another game-changing treatment is the blood and marrow transplant. It revolutionized the treatment of multiple myeloma because it replaces a person’s damaged stem cells with healthy ones. OHC doctors were instrumental in bringing this life-saving treatment to area residents, and continue to monitor new techniques that could eliminate the use of chemotherapy with transplants to improve efficacy and safety, and provide patients with a better quality of life.
OHC has always been aggressive when it comes to the care of our patients, and that includes those with multiple myeloma. With the latest treatments, we’re providing longer survival rates and an improved quality of life. And we continue our relentless search for new treatments, so that someday – hopefully in the near future – we can bid farewell to this disease.
For more information about multiple myeloma, please visit this page on plasma cell neoplasms. You can also call us at 1-800-710-4674 for information or if you’d like a second opinion.
Sources: OHC, WebMD
