Tag: Peter Martin MD

New Weill Cornell Study: Ofatumumab in Untreated Follicular Lymphoma

CALGB 50901: A Phase II Trial of Ofatumumab (CALGB IND #112390) in Previously Untreated Follicular Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL)

The Weill Cornell Lymphoma Program is now enrolling people in a new clinical trial for patients with follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Dr. Peter Martin is the physician leading the study at Weill Cornell.

For more information about the study, please call Amelyn Rodriguez, RN at (212) 746-1362 or email Amelyn at amr2017@med.cornell.edu.

Key Eligibility
  • Men and women age 18 or older
  • Follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)
  • No prior therapy for NHL including chemotherapy or immunotherapy
  • Detailed eligibility reviewed when you contact the study team
Study Details

This is a clinical trial for patients with follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who have not been previously treated. The purpose of the study is to determine how well patients with follicular NHL respond to treatment with the drug ofatumumab.

Ofatumumab is an antibody therapy that is targeted to attack the abnormal cancer cells that make up follicular lymphoma by recognizing a protein on the surface of these cells. Ofatumumab is an effective treatment for follicular lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia that comes back after people first respond to other chemotherapy. It is not known how well ofatumumab will work in patients with follicular lymphoma who have not been previously treated.

All patients in the study will receive ofatumumab. You will be randomly assigned to receive one of two doses of ofatumumab; neither you nor the study physician can choose which dose you receive.  You will receive either 500 mg or 1000 mg of the study drug via infusion on days 1, 8, 15 and 22 during the first 4 weeks of treatment (induction therapy). Following induction therapy ofatumumab will be given every other month to cover a total of 9 months. During this time you will continue to receive the same dose, either 500 mg or 1000 mg, that you were initially assigned.

We expect patients to be receiving treatment in the study for approximately 9 months. After completing study treatment you will be asked to return for follow-up tests 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31, and 35 months after entering the study, and then every 6 months for a maximum of 10 years from study entry, unless your disease should return.

Lymphoma in the news: Exercise after completion of cancer treatment improves quality of life

By Peter Martin, MD

A recently published meta-analysis focused on the effects of physical activity in adults who had completed their cancer therapy (click here to read the abstract). Fong and colleagues compiled data from 34 randomized studies that assigned participants to either exercise or no exercise. Most of the studies evaluated aerobic exercise, and the average duration of activity was 13 weeks. Not surprisingly, participants randomized to exercise experienced significant improvements in body mass index, weight, and power output among other measures. Importantly, they also experienced significant gains in quality of life and other psychological outcomes (e.g., fatigue, depression).

A meta-analysis is a study that combines results from multiple related studies to derive a more powerful estimate of a true effect (click here to read more about meta-analyses). Although meta-analyses are often derided and are subject to various forms of bias, a well-performed meta-analysis is one of the most powerful methods of controlling for variation between studies and determining a true effect size in a population.

The results of this meta-analysis strongly suggest that patients who have completed cancer therapy can benefit from an exercise program. Moreover, it behooves oncologists to discuss the potential role of an exercise program with their patients. Patients should be encouraged to discuss the potential role of exercise with the oncologists and primary care physicians.

Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Clinical Database Study

The purpose of this study at Weill Cornell Medical College is to learn about what might cause lymphoma, to learn about how lymphoma harms the body, and to learn about treatments for Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia.

This study is open to people being treated for Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia outside of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, but participation would require at least one visit at Weill Cornell.

Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia is a rare type of lymphoma, a disease where one of the white blood cells, the lymphocytes, increases in number more than they should. The lymphocytes in Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia also secrete a protein called IgM. Excess IgM can interfere with the circulation of blood. Investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College and other institutions are collecting information about lymphoma patients and their disease, as well studying their lymphoma cells in the laboratory.

Participants in this study give their permission for the investigators to collect their clinical information for research purposes. In addition, the researchers will store participants’ blood, urine, check swab, bone marrow and/or tumor tissue samples for research studies to be performed now and in the future. In some cases, participants may be asked by their physician to provide additional samples.

By studying the clinical course of lymphoma patients and the lymphoma cells in the laboratory, we hope to learn more about what causes lymphoma. We also hope that information from these studies will help identify new treatments for people with lymphoma.

To find out more about this study please contact June Greenberg, RN at (212) 746-2651 or email June at jdg2002@med.cornell.edu.

The principal investigator of this study is Dr. Peter Martin. Click here to read Dr. Martin’s clinical and research profile.