Cancer Research UK .Recruitment :
Start 01/06/2010
End 31/12/2011
Phase 3
This trial is looking at dexamethasone and plitidepsin for myeloma that is not responding to treatment or has come back after other types of treatment. You may hear this called refractory or relapsed myeloma.
Doctors can treat myeloma with chemotherapy, biological therapy and steroids. Some people have intensive treatment and a stem cell transplant.
If myeloma comes back after treatment, doctors may suggest different combinations of drugs. But if you have had a number of different types of treatment, it becomes more difficult to treat myeloma. You may have steroids, but researchers are looking for other treatments to help people in this situation.
In this trial, they are looking at a new drug called plitidepsin (also known as Aplidin).
Like other types of chemotherapy plitidepsin damages cells as they divide, which can lead to the death of myeloma cells.
But plitidepsin also seems to have an effect on a growth factor called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Cancer cells need their own blood supply to grow and VEGF helps new blood vessels develop. Blocking the development of new blood vessels can stop myeloma cells growing.
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