The MDS Beacon™

Results of a recent, small French study indicate that it may be possible for myelodysplastic syndromes patients to receive Vidaza treatment at home instead of at a doctor’s office or hospital.

The findings were presented at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in San Diego last month.

In France, chemotherapy is typically administered in a hospital. However, the French National Health Service allows home administration of some chemo­therapy treatments after the first treatment cycle.

A group of French researchers, therefore, sought to investigate if Vidaza (azacitidine) could…

Results from two independent clinical trials continue to show that myelodsyplastic syndromes patients may be effectively treated using both Vidaza and Revlimid.

Treatment with a combination of Vidaza (azacitidine) and Revlimid (lenalidomide) has previously been shown to be effective in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) patients with or without chromosomal abnormalities.

The two new studies on the combined use of Vidaza and Revlimid were presented at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting last month.

Phase 2 Trial: Simultaneous Treatment With Vidaza And Revlimid

Dr. Mikkael…

Results of a recent study show that myelodysplastic syndromes patients who are in poor health and therefore ineligible for clinical trials may benefit from treatment with Vidaza and Zolinza.

The study authors found that the efficacy and safety of the combination therapy were similar to those of other treatment regimens commonly tested in clinical trials.

They concluded that their findings support treatment for patients who are ineligible for clinical trials, and they suggested that current eligibility criteria for Phase 1/2 clinical trials be reexamined.

Dr. Guillermo Garcia-Manero of the MD…

A treatment combining Vidaza and infusions of donor white blood cells may be effective in myelodysplastic syndromes patients who relapse after stem cell transplantation, according to results of a small Phase 2 clinical trial conducted in Germany.

In addition, the study authors found that patients who had a complete response to the combination therapy experienced significantly longer overall survival than those who did not.

Dr. Thomas Schroeder of Heinrich Heine University in Duesseldorf, Germany, presented the clinical trial findings at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference in San…

Preliminary results of a Phase 1/2 trial indicate that treatment with low-dose Clolar during an extended, alternate day treatment schedule may be effective in high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes patients who no longer respond to Vidaza.

Dr. Thorsten Braun of the Avicenne Hospital in Bobigny, France, presented the trial results during an oral session at the 2011 meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) earlier this week.

Patients who fail Vidaza (azacitidine) treatment typically have poor prognoses (see the related Beacon news).

Previous studies have shown that Clolar…