New Therapy for Blood Cancers Using Drug Combo, Report in Clinical Cancer Research

Reported in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the study determined the maximum tolerated dose with acceptable side effects for this novel drug combination. The trial represented the first time a proteasome inhibitor such as Bortezomib was combined with a cell cycle inhibitor such as Alvocidib to treat patients with cancer. Proteasome inhibitors work by blocking the action of proteasomes, which are large protein complexes that help destroy proteins that are no longer needed by the cell. Cell cycle inhibitors disrupt the sequence of events that allow cells to undergo cell division and duplication. They also have the ability to block gene transcription.

The trial included 16 patients who had either indolent (non-aggressive) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma or multiple myeloma. After they received the treatments over a 21-day cycle, there were two complete responses, meaning that all detectable traces of the cancer were gone, and five partial responses.