Bortezomib and lenalidomide combine to fight multiple myeloma

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Drug combo looks promising against multiple myeloma in clinical trials.
Bortezomib (Velcade®) and lenalidomide (Revlimid®) are both new drugs that are active against the bone marrow cancer multiple myeloma. They work in different ways against tumor cells. Now a team at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reveals that the drugs taken in combination can be more effective than when administered separately.

A group of 38 patients with multiple myeloma whose disease had come back despite treatment received the combination therapy - some also receiving dexamethasone, which is a conventional treatment for multiple myeloma. Fifty eight per cent of them responded, with six per cent having complete remission. Some patients had good disease control for as long as two and a half years. The new drugs were, on the whole, well tolerated too. The trial was based upon preclinical work revealing how lenalidomide makes myeloma cells more vulnerable to both bortezomib and dexamethasone. A trial involving newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients is now underway.

Source
American Society of Hematology meeting 11th December 2006

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