Benzene Leukemia Law Blog : Benzene and Leukemia Lawyer & Attorney : Burke & Eisner Law Firm : Benzene Exposure, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma

A recent study conducted at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Solove Research Institute reveals that there is a promising treatment for older patients suffering from acute myloid leukemia (AML). According to researchers, phase II of the study found that older patients treated with the drug decitabine had a higher than expected recovery rate. The drug was found to be most effective when taken on a strict dosing schedule.

"This study could provide a new treatment paradigm for elderly patients with AML," explains co-author Dr. John Byrd, the associate director of translational research at Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Study to be Presented to Board of Researchers

The study will reportedly be presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Francisco this week. Researchers will also be analyzing the 13,300 new cases of AML that have popped up this year alone in the United States.

AML is a rapidly progressive disease that often results in the production of immature, cells within the bone marrow and bloodstream. As a result, the body can become unable to fight off infections or even produce enough healthy red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. AML can primarily affect patients who are 60 years of age and older and it has become known as the second most common form of leukemia in adults.

A majority of elderly AML patients who are diagnosed with AML today are offered only supportive care as treatment due to the fact that their bodies are believed to be too weak to withstand the strong and life changing effects of chemotherapy.

"The treatment of AML is difficult in anybody, but particularly for older patients who don't tolerate the 'thunderbolt' of intensive chemotherapy well," says Dr. William Blum, a hematologist and oncologist at Ohio State. "Some of the patients we are treating successfully had previously been told by other physicians to 'go home and die.' They were judged not to be candidates for any treatment at all because they likely would not survive the traditional, harsh chemotherapy approach."

The ongoing study focusing on AML in older patients, involves 33 patients from the age of 60 to 83. An estimated 58 percent of the patients studied responded, 42 percent who reportedly went into complete remission. In many cases, patients who did go into remission were able to receive bone marrow transplants as part of another clinical trial that’s been designed for older patients suffering from AML.

 

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It was recently announced by Cell Therapeutics, Inc. that the Journal of Clinical Oncology has published the results of an ongoing study regarding lymphoma and Zevalin(R). The study analyzed the effects of Zevalin(R) on 30 patients living with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) when combined with stem cell infusions. Although this kind of therapy, known as high-dose myeloablativechemotherapy, is effective for NHL until this study is has been solely used on younger patients.

Study Details

In the study, three cycles of conventional therapy were reportedly given in conjunction with stem cell infusions. This was followed by about three times the standard dose of Zevalin that is typically given to patients with lymphoma and other forms of cancer. According to researchers, the treatment resulted in 83 percent of the participants achieving a disease free state with an overall survival rate of 87 percent after a 30 month follow-up.

"Our results suggest that the use of high-dose Zevalin for these patients provides a significant clinical benefit and is very well tolerated," explains Alessandro M. Gianni, M.D., Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Milan. "We are encouraged by the outcome of the study as this regimen could be applicable to the vast majority of high risk or relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients."

What is Zevalin(R)?

Zevalin(R) is a form of cancer therapy that is also known as radio immune therapy. This form of treatment is commonly used as part of a therapeutic regimen for those with relapsed or low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

This form of therapy was approved by the FDA in February 2002, and has become known as the first radio immuno therapeutic agent to be used for the treatment of NHL. Although this therapy has proven to be effective, in rare cases it has also proven to be risky and deaths have occurred within 24 hours of patients being given this treatment. However, these cases have been so few and far between that researchers and health physicians are now realizing that the benefits could outweigh the risks.
 

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A recent study conducted by researchers in Finland found a link between patients who undergo liver transplants and lymphoma. Research has shown that after enduring a liver transplant, the human body is almost three times more likely to be vulnerable and develop fatal forms of cancer.

The study, which has been published in a recent issue of Liver Transplantation, revealed that one out of six patients who receives a liver transplant is likely to be diagnosed with some type of cancer within the 20 year period after they receive their donor organ.

Study Details

According to the study, Helena Isoniemi and her colleagues reportedly tracked patients from Helsinki University Central Hospital who received liver transplants from 1982 to 2005. 540 liver recipients were analyzed in the study and of these patients, there were 39 cases of cancer. Among the types of cancers that are found to be most common in liver transplant patients are lymphoma and skin cancer.

"The most common cancer types in our cohort were lymphoma and skin cancer," explains the study’s lead author. "Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which included four cases of post-transplant lymphoproliverative disorder, occurred more frequently in males, in patients transplanted at a younger age and soon after transplantation."

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that originates in the lymphocytes and affects the white blood cells that are present in the immune system. The cancer typically develops in the lymph nodes and can be detected when they enlarge. Lymphoma is closely related to lymphoid leukemia and although a great deal of research has been done regarding the illness, a cure for lymphoma has not yet been found.

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Two studies reported in the May 1st  edition of the New England Journal of Medicine indicate that there are genetic markers that can make it easier for doctors to determine what type of treatment is the best for individuals with AML,  Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  One study done in Ulm, Germany analyzed the genetic makeup of normal AML cells in 872 patients and uncovered two mutations that cut the risk of relapse and death in half. 

AML, which starts in the bone marrow and often spreads into the blood, can be treated by chemotherapy and/or bone marrow transplant.  Each method carries its own risks, ranging from toxicity to transplant rejection.

Survival rates were calculated  based on the type of treatment and gene mutation each patient had.  The researchers identified some cases where patients may benefit from a transplant and cases where such a procedure carries a high risk.

The second study was done by  by researchers at Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center.  This research found 7 microRNAs (single-stranded ribonucleic acid molecules) responsible for immune response and which could be helpful in  predicting leukemia recurrence.  

These  studies will be useful in helping researchers find better treatments and helpful to doctors in determining which treatments are appropriate for their patients.  In addition, this may be helpful in eventually having drugs that will  target the genetic mutations identified in these two studies.

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Coping with a rare disease such as aplastic anemia is not an easy task.  The hardest part to deal with is finding out what causes the disorder.  I have not been diagnosed with the disorder, but my father has.  The doctors have linked the development of his diagnosis to the exposure of benzene within his occupational environment.  Other occupational and environmental exposures to certain chemicals have created a higher risk for developing aplastic anemia.  How could these occupational/environmental exposures to certain chemicals lead to the prevalence of aplastic anemia in the future?

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