New Treatment?

I didn't post anything yesterday, because anything I started writing just didn't seem right. I started to write about 9/11, not related to cancer in any way, but then cancer came into it, with the announcement on Monday that Responders would be covered for cancer caused by the aftermath of 9/11 attacks. Apparently, there hadn't been enough evidence that all of the toxic stuff in the air could cause cancer, but now the scientific community agrees that the evidence exists. NHL is particularly high in Responders, eleven years later.

So I started to write about that yesterday, and it made be both bitter (because it took so damn long for anyone to help these people) and sad (because the stories about Responders hit me hard; my boys were so young in 2001, and so enamored with firefighters, and the firefighters were so good to us when we stopped by the firehouse every couple of weeks to see the hoses and axes and Halligan bars and try on the helmets...). It just wasn't a very good entry. I didn't want to write something crappy.

So I skipped it and moved on to today. On a happier note....

Cell Therapeutics announced that they have received conditional approval in Europe for a treatment called Pixuvri, which has shown to be effective in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma patients who seem to have no other options. Lymphoma Rock Star Jamie Reno has a nice write up on the significance of the decision.

Pixuvri is also known as Pixantrone. It was developed to be as effective as the anthracycline portion of the chemo cocktail CHOP, Adriamycin. Adriamycin is the "H" in CHOP, because it's also known as Hydroxydaunomycin. Take that away, and you have the chemo cocktail CVP, not COP, because the O is for Onovin, the trade name for Vincristine. But that's not important now. What is important is that Pixantrone replaces Adriamycin, which needs to replaced because, like all anthracyclines, it can cause heart damage.

Got all that? In summary: CPOP (almost CHOP, but with Pixuvri/Pixantrone) seems to be as effective as CHOP, but with less damage to the heart. That's an excellent thing.

Cell Therapeutics' conditional approval means that they have enough evidence that the treatment may do some good for people who would otherwise be out of options, but they still need to do more trials before they can get full approval in Europe.

There are Pixatrone trials going on in the U.S., too. Here's hoping they turn out well, and we have another option -- a safer option -- for people with DLBCL, and perhaps for people with more advanced, more aggressive indolent lymphomas, too.

(Overall, that was a much happier blog entry, I would say.)