Please Help Me In Undestanding Mapatumumab

My mm has started relapsing and at this stage my doc has proposed to me mapatumumab in combination with bortezomib. Could anybody help me asses this drug.

Raz

Hello Raz!  Where do you live?  I've never heard of  Mapatumumab anywhere before -- is it being used in the western world??  And to use it in conjunction with Velcade - which is now well known - seems very strange.  Most docs seem to be combining Velcade with Revlimid and Thalidomide or dexamethasone.  It will be interesting to hear what others have to say.  Did your doctor mention who makes Mapatumumab or just what sort of action it is suppose to have?  What hospital are you being treated at?  Is it a known Cancer centre? 

You pose a very interesting question Raz - lets hope someone can help!  Cath

Hi again Raz -- This is really fascinating!  I googled the drug and there is quite a bit of info, but if you start with   http:wikipedia.org/wiki/monoclonal_antibody

and go from there it will probably be easier to understand.

The idea of a "magic bullet" was first proposed by Paul Ehrlich who at the beginning of the 20th century postulated that if a compound could be made that selectively targeted a disease-causing organism, then a toxin for that organism could be delivered along with the agent of selectivity.

In the 1970s the B-cell cancer myeloma was known, and it was understood that these cancerous B-cells all produce a single type of antibody (a paraprotein). This was used to study the structure of antibodies, but it was not yet possible to produce identical antibodies specific to a given antigen.

This is from the start of the wikipedia article which goes on at great length to explain just what monoclonal antibodies are.  This site is just great for bringing us the most up to date info on drugs that are being developed which just may help us all!  We never would have come across this if it hadn't been for you.  I plan to follow up with as much research as I can because I've been on Revlimid for 18months now and have been told that Rev ususally only works for about 15 months.  Therefore I want to be ready with suggestions for my doctor when the time comes to look at using something else.  Please keep us in the loop as you follow through on the treatment.  If possible can you find out WHY your doctor is suggesting this for you -- and not one of the other combinations which everyone is currently using.  Thanks for opening this door of possibility for us all Raz!  Cath

Yes, very interesting indeed. Please keep all of us posted.

Regards,

Craig 

Hi Cath, Craig and others

Thanks for posting information. Some years back I read the Golden Bullet by Paul Enrlich and I wished that soon something on these lines is developed for mm. Now I would like to know if mapatumumab is a drug developed on these lines or it is one of profit making....

I have also read some information on the net but would like to know more.Somebody the other day wrote in the messages about Tanespimycine that it is going to be a bigy in the treatment of mm.Can one cosider mapatumumab also a bigy.

Raz

On 1/23/2008 Myeloma wrote:

My mm has started relapsing and at this stage my doc has proposed to me mapatumumab in combination with bortezomib. Could anybody help me asses this drug.

Raz

Good Evening Raz;

I mentioned this drug to my Dr. during my recent visit and he told me he's not aware of it. (I have my opinion of Drs. but this guy is no dummy.)

He read what I had downloaded regarding it and said it sounds very positive. But had heard of no trials being conducted with it.

I wish I could be of more help but that's all I can offer.

Take care;

Kevin

On 1/23/2008 Oncrx wrote:

Mapatumumab is in phase II clinical trials for several different cancers.  There is one I know of where Mapatumumab + Velcade is compared with Velcade alone in MM.  Mapatumumab is interesting in that it induces programed cell death.  To see if you are eligeable check clinicaltrials.gov.

Good Evening Oncrx;

I checked the website you mentioned and attempted a search for Mapatumumab to no avail. Is there some other site I can review as my Dr. was not aware of this drug and stated that this may not be available for use with MM.

Thank you;

Kevin

Kevin

check this:  http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=Mapatumumab+ +

The 1st study there is still recruiting patients.  Check the inclusion and exclusion criteria to see if you would qualify.  You do have to be refractory or relapsed.

I was on the Phase II trail (HGS1012-C1055: A Phase 2, Multi-Center, Open-Label, Randomized Study Of Mapatumumab (TRM-1 [HGS1012], A Fully Human Monoclonal Antibody To Trail-R1) In Combination With Bortezomib (Velcade) And Bortezomib Alone In Subjects With
Relapsed Or Refractory Multiple Myeloma) starting last September. Being a sample of 1, my experiences really don't mean anything in terms of efficacy or even side effects. So PLEASE don't base your treatment decisions on my experiences, they are only anecdotal. I found the monoclonal antibody was a breeze in terms of side effects even at the highest dose level which I happen to be randomized into. It is a 1 hour infusion followed by 3 hours of waiting around to monitor for side effects. The Velcade was a breeze in terms of administration (a simple IV push of a few seconds). My body really didn't like Velcade. I felt "drugged" in the 12-36+ hour period post infusion.

Unfortunately I was booted off the trial in late November due to "progressive disease." I have a rather pesky non-responsive light chain only form of MM so don't pass judgment because it didn't work for me.

You can check out my somewhat rambling light take on my MM experience at http://laughingplasmacells.blogspot.com Go back to September '07 for occasional posts about my clinical trial story.