Immune Therapy Could Treat Form of Blood Cancer

Multiple myeloma is an incurable cancer of the blood in which a group of plasma (myeloma) cells in your bone marrow becomes cancerous and begin to multiply, causing the level of abnormal proteins to increase in the blood.

The ailment can have a detrimental effect on bones, the immune system, kidneys, and red blood cell count. In 2014, multiple myeloma is expected to account for 24,000 new cases and 11,100 deaths. But researchers from the Ohio State University believe a form of immune therapy could treat the incurable blood cancer.

Researchers from the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute had their study published in the journal of Clinical Cancer Research. "Genetic Modification of T Cells Redirected towards CS1 Enhances Eradication of Myeloma Cells," revealed that modified T lymphocytes (T cells) can effectively target the molecule CS1, which is found on over 95% of myeloma cells.

"Despite current drugs and use of bone marrow transplantation, multiple myeloma is still incurable, and almost all patients eventually relapse," said co-principal investigator of the study and multiple myeloma specialist Craig Hofmeister, MD, MPH, in this OSU news release. "This study presents a novel strategy for treating multiple myeloma, and we hope to bring it to patients as part of a phase I clinical trial as soon as possible."

Your body contains T cells, whose job is to provide assistance to the immune system and protect the body from disease, infections, bacteria, etc. However, they're unable to defend against everything, and the researchers found that a modified version of the T cells can better recognize multiple myeloma cells and protect the body more effectively. Additionally, these modified T cells can be grown in a lab when extracted from patients.

Jianhua Yu, Ph D, and co-principal investigator of the study, noted that the modified T-cells can also potentially replicate within the body and could possess the ability to suppress tumor growth and prevent relapse for a longer period of time, compared to current treatments for multiple myeloma.