Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai researchers will present several landmark studies at the 2015 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting December 5-8, 2015, in Orlando, including data analysis of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma that revealed insight into key biological processes and deeper understanding of cellular systems and disease mechanisms, and two combination therapy strategies that showed high response rates in patients with difficult-to-treat myeloma.
Highlights of Mount Sinai research at ASH:
Towards a Network-Based Molecular Taxonomy of Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
Mount Sinai researchers, led by Samir Parekh, MBBS, constructed the first network biology of multiple myeloma based on RNA-sequencing data provided by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and integrated cell mutations data to infer a better model and understanding of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM). Their analysis revealed both known and unknown molecular features yielding valuable insight into key biological processes.
"We created a network model for MM and uncovered agreements between expressed genes and their molecular traits, and incorporating cell mutation data," said Dr. Parekh, Associate Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology at The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "This unveiled significant associations between mutations, certain fundamental biological processes such as DNA repair and cell cycle, and identified key driver genes that will guide treatment and inform us of best therapies."
Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase 1b Study of Daratumumab in Combination with Pomalidomide and Dexamethasone in Patients with at Least 2 Lines of Prior Therapy and Relapsed or Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Daratumumab in combination with Pomalyst-dexamethasone and other traditional therapies has been shown to be safe and effective for patients with relapsed and/or refractory MM. "Our goal was to test the safety and tolerability of this combination," said Ajai Chari, MD, Associate Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Director of Clinical Research in the Multiple Myeloma Program at TCI. "Patients had deep and durable response in a quick period of time, and the combination was well tolerated and did not result in any additional toxicity."
Combination Treatment of the Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Ibrutinib and Carfilzomib in Patients with Relapsed or Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma: Initial Results from a Multicenter Phase 1/2b Study
Recent advances have improved outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma (MM); however, better therapies targeting new pathways are still needed. A multi-center research team evaluated 40 patients with MM who had received Ibrutinib (IBR), a once-daily Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor that prevents both activation and signaling of B-cells, and observed that when combined with weekly dexamethasone yielded promising clinical potential and well tolerated by patients.
"The initial data has shown promising potential for this combination," said Dr. Chari. "Patients tolerated this combination and we believe it may positively regulate the myeloma stem cell-like population."
Source: The Mount Sinai Hospital / Mount Sinai School of Medicine