Radioimmunotherapy

7/18/07

“Both Zevalin and Bexxar are very good products. It is astounding and disappointing that they are used so little.”
Dr. Oliver W. Press – Chairman of the scientific advisory board of the Lymphoma Research Foundation

The above quote from the front page of the Saturday, July 14 New York Times story, “2 Lymphoma Drugs Go Unused, And Backers Cite Market Forces” concerns a radical new treatment that is an alternative to traditional chemotherapy. It’s called radioimmunotherapy (Google it). Pioneered by Dr. Mark Kaminski, M.D., Director of the Adult Hematology Clinic at the University of Michigan, radioimmunotherapy uses radioactive antibodies to search out malignant tumor cells. Rather than the repeated cycles of chemo and side effects that take several months, the patient receives ONE test injection at the beginning of the week, and ONE therapeutic dose later in the week. That ‘s it! Side effects? Blood counts may be lower in the weeks following the treatment. Nausea is rare and there is no hair loss. Before saying more I should point out that most of the research has been done on Follicular (indolent) rather than Large Cell (aggressive) Lymphomas. Did I mention that tomorrow I go in for the R-Karate C.H.O.P.. R is for Rituxan, the gold standard of Chemo treatment since it was approved in 1997. But if immunotherapy is not for me, it may be for you my fellow sufferers. My intention here is to bring this story and the hope it carries to those who don’t can’t read the literature and comb the net for the latest medical information.
I’m off to a day of testing, MUGA, CT, PET. Later.