Author: lymphomaprogram

Located on the Upper East Side of New York City, the Lymphoma Program at Weill Cornell Medical College/NewYork Presbyterian Hospital is internationally recognized for our efforts to enable patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin disease and related disorders to have the best possible clinical outcome, including cure when possible.

New Clinical Trial: A Phase 1 Study to Assess Safety/Tolerability of REGN1979 & REGN2810 in Patients with B-Cell Malignancies

The Weill Cornell Medicine Lymphoma Program has recently opened a new clinical trial for men and women with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The study sponsor is Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and the principal investigator at Weill Cornell is Sarah Rutherford, M.D. For more information about the study, please call Rita Gazivoda, RN at 212-746-0702 or e-mail Rita at rig9021@med.cornell.edu.

Key Eligibility

  • Men and women age 18 and older with either B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma with active disease that is either refractory to or relapsed after most recent prior therapy for whom no standard of care options exist or documented Hodgkin lymphoma with active disease not responsive to prior therapy or relapsed after prior therapy for whom no standard of care options exist.
  • Detailed eligibility reviewed when you contact the study team.

Study Summary

This clinical trial is for men and women with lymphoma for whom no standard of care options exist. Currently available treatments for lymphoma are effective in some patients, however, other patients experience relapse or refractory disease following treatment. Therefore, there is a need to find more effective treatments when patients fail to respond to existing standard of care options. Patients will be administered REGN2810 intravenously every 2 weeks at a specified dose level. Patients will receive REGN2810 for a minimum of 12 doses (24 weeks) and up to a maximum of 24 doses (48 weeks). Upon completion of treatment, there will be a 24-week follow-up period. Patients will continue on treatment as long as they are responding to therapy and not experiencing unacceptable side effects.

Lymphoma Physicians Discuss Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab as Initial Mantle Cell Lymphoma Treatment

Recently Dr. John Leonard was interviewed by the Lymphoma Research Foundation and answered questions about the current state of treatment for patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Specifically, they discussed how results from the 2015, New England Journal of Medicine published study, “Lenalidomide plus Rituximab as Initial Treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma” has improved the treatment options for MCL patients. This multi-center phase 2 study showed that a combination therapy, lacking many of the typical debilitating effects of traditional cancer treatment could effectively manage MCL by inducing remissions in the vast majority of patients.

Dr. Leonard, the study’s senior author, described the potential impact of this research and how it could improve our understanding of MCL and treatment as follows,

“This research provides an additional option for patients with MCL and represents the first study of a non-chemotherapy approach that is generally of lower intensity than usual initial treatment. The fact that the majority of patients had durable disease control, with good quality of life, suggests that this approach may have value for some patients. Ongoing research will better assess the longer term outcomes with this approach, and how it either compares with or can be combined with other treatments. This study demonstrates the value of potentially using newer agents as part of initial treatment in MCL, rather than holding off until the disease recurs later.”

In April 2016 the study was nominated by the Clinical Research Forum as one of their Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards of 2016. The 10 winning papers were chosen based on their degree of innovation from a pool of more than 40 nominations from 30 research and academic health centers nationwide.

In the video below you can watch the study’s lead author Dr. Jia Ruan describe the importance of her team’s findings.

10 Tips for Cancer Patients Taking Supplements

Shayne RobinsonBy Shayne Robinson, RD, CSO, CDN

As an oncology dietitian, I always encourage patients to eat a balanced diet of “whole unprocessed foods.” However, there are times when some patients need to use supplements along with conventional treatments in partnership with their physician. Below are 10 tips for cancer patients who have decided to use supplements (after consulting with their healthcare team).

1. Speak up! Report all supplement use to your healthcare team.

2. Have a reason. Patients should only take supplements to prevent a deficiency, manage side effects or co-manage a medical condition.

3. Be informed. Many supplements are metabolized through the same pathway as medications you may be taking. As a result, they may carry a risk for interaction with medication (including oral chemotherapy). Know the evidence to support the supplements you choose, and ask your doctor, registered dietitian and pharmacist about potential interactions.

4. Look over the label – thoroughly. Choose a supplement with the seal of approval from US Pharmacopeia, Consumer Lab, or NSF International to get the best product possible. Make sure you read the fine print and all the disclaimers on the bottle.

5. Ask questions, if your supplement does not provide the expected benefit. There may be significant differences in the quality of various supplements. For example, if you are taking a magnesium supplement for a low magnesium level, and your magnesium level is not increasing, you should question the product.

6. Know your body. Be aware that supplements can be contaminated with drugs, pesticides and heavy metals. If you have an adverse event after starting a new supplement, stop taking it, and report the reaction to your doctor.

7. Be skeptical! If it sounds “too good to be true,” it probably is. “Bad” supplements are sold via multi-level marketing schemes, have exaggerated claims and a price that is often unwarranted.

8. Not all supplements are created equal. Make sure you know exactly what you are getting in your supplement. Supplements stating they are proprietary blends may not disclose how much of each ingredient they contain and may contain sub-par levels of ingredients.

9. Don’t mix and match. Consider the combination of your supplements. If you are taking a multi-vitamin and other supplements containing a nutrient in the multi-vitamin, you may be exceeding the tolerable limit.

10. Supplements aren’t substitutes. Most importantly, remember that a supplement is never a replacement for a healthy diet.

Shayne Robinson, RD CSO CDN is an oncology dietitian formerly with WCM/NYP’s Ambulatory Care Network’s Outpatient Practice. To see a dietitian at our outpatient nutrition practice call (212) 746-0838. Physician referral required.