If you have relapsed myeloma and you’re looking for options you may encounter the name “Daratumumab” because it has recently been shown to extend life of some patients by as much as three years. This is very big news and a major part of the toolbox from which your doctor can choose when it comes to your treatment.
Daratumumab, often called Dara, is an immunotherapy drug that takes advantage of your body's immune response to bacteria and viruses. Your body's immune system is an expert at detecting infections and combating them. One mechanism by which it does this is by producing proteins known as antibodies.
Read More Dr. Nina Shah, Hematologist at UCSF, explains, “An antibody is something that you produce normally to attack bacteria and viruses, and your body recognizes that when an antibody is on top of something, it needs to kill that cell. Dr. Shah says researchers have developed an antibody against myeloma cells and figured out a protein that myeloma cells have, and they were able to generate an antibody which attacks that protein.”When your body sees an antibody attached to the myeloma cell, it thinks, "Ooh, that shouldn't be there," and your own immune system is able to now kill that myeloma cell because it's been tagged by that antibody.” Clinical trials then found that
Dara is able to extend life when used in combination with drugs such as
Velcade,
Revlimid, and steroids "so much so that in a recent trial, people who got it seemed to be living without their myeloma growing for almost three years after that first relapse," says Dr. Shah. This exciting development in myeloma treatment have given oncologists at least one way to fight relapsed myeloma and extend life, allowing you to experience life's sweeter moments. "We have a chance for you to go back to doing what you love to do, we have a chance for you to go to your kid's wedding, or see your grandkid be born, or maybe make it to your grandkid's graduation, or all those milestones that are important, because we're using new techniques, like immunotherapy, to get at the myeloma in a way that it hasn't already been gotten to."
As a bit of background, myeloma cells that have survived after undergoing rounds and rounds of various treatments are very challenging to treat. This is because relapsed myeloma cells have over twice as many mutations compared to when the disease previously appeared. In other words, they have twice as many ways of resisting previous treatments than they used to have. To treat this highly resistant form of myeloma, oncologists must need more innovative methods such as Daratumumab.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Nina Shah is a hematologist who specializes in the treatment of multiple myeloma, a type of cancer affecting the blood marrow. She treats patients at the Hematology and Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinic. Read More
