The Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR), established in 2004 as a 501 c (3) non-profit organization, is headquartered in West Hollywood, California. IMBCR is the only independent non-profit cancer research institute working to find improved treatment, and ultimately a cure for multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood cells that reside in the bone marrow.

Longevity study's findings

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS) there are approximately 45,000 people in the United States living with multiple myeloma, and estimates that approximately 14,600 new cases of myeloma are diagnosed each year. It follows from here that the average survival at diagnosis is about three years. The 5-year relative survival rate for multiple myeloma is around 33%. Also, survival is higher in younger people and lower in the elderly (1).

The International Staging System (ISS) has also been used to predict multiple myeloma survival. It shows a median overall survival of 62 months for stage 1 disease, 44 months for stage 2 disease, and 29 months for stage 3 disease (2).

In 2007, data was compiled from 100 multiple myeloma patients treated with various combinations of innovative therapeutic agents (3). These patients were treated by oncologist, James R. Berenson, MD the Medical and Scientific Director of IMBCR.

The median overall survival of these patients was 117 months, or 9.75 years from diagnosis. The 5-year survival was approximately 80%. These numbers far surpass those predicted by the ACS and ISS demonstrating the effectiveness of the newer combination therapy used in Dr. Berenson's clinic.

Breakthrough Research, IMBCR tests drug compounds both in vivo and in vitro

Because of our unique position as the only independent cancer research institute dedicated to myeloma, we have accomplished several breakthroughs over the last year.

1. Identified a new target that when blocked will treat myeloma directly and stop early blood vessels that feed myeloma.

2. Developed a peptide that blocks myeloma growth directly as well as stops bone loss in myeloma patients.

3. By using the IMBCR proprietary animal models, optimized many different combinations of chemotherapy with new anti-myeloma drugs that will be tested in clinical trials.

4. Tested genetic constructs that will ONLY target myeloma cells and leave the rest of the body unaffected, this ongoing initiative is called, "The Cure Myeloma Project" under the guidance of lead scientist, Zhi-Wei Li, Ph.D. who joined our staff in January 2008 from the Lee Moffitt Cancer Center affiliated with the university of South Florida.

Presentations and Publications

Our research findings have been presented at annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Hematology and the bi-annual International Myeloma Workshop in Greece. Our research has been published in publications including, Blood, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cancer, Clinical Cancer Research, Clinical Lymphoma and Myeloma, Oncogene, and the British Journal of Haematology.

References

1. American Cancer Society: Cancer Facts and Figures 2007. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society, 2007. Also available online. Last accessed September 7, 2007.

2. Greipp PR, San Miguel J, Durie BG et al. International staging system for multiple myeloma. J Clin Oncol 2005; 23:3412-20.

3. Berenson JR, Yellin O, Crowley J et al. Factors That Determine Overall Survival among Patients (Pts) with Multiple Myeloma (MM) Treated with Zoledronic Acid (ZOL): Lack of Skeletal-Related Events (SREs) and Occurrence of Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ) Predict Improved Survival. Blood 2007; 110:4842.

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