A therapy that’s showing promising results in a recent study is being offered to blood cancer patients in Little Rock.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Myeloma Center, part of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, is the only institution in the state that offers CAR T-cell therapy to patients with multiple myeloma. While the blood cancer is not currently curable, symptoms can be addressed and progression can be slowed through various treatments.
CAR T-cell therapy is a weekslong process that involves harvesting T-cells, a type of white blood cell, from multiple myeloma patients’ blood and sending them to a lab where they are trained to attack cancer cells, according to Dr. Samer Al Hadidi, an associate professor at UAMS’ College of Medicine.
Once this process is complete, patients receive an infusion of the newly trained cells after being given a low dose of chemotherapy to make room for the cells, Al Hadidi said.
A study presented in June at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, showed prolonged periods of remission for patients who received a specific CAR T-cell therapy called CARVYKTI®.
Of the 97 “heavily pretreated” patients that received this therapy, about a third remained alive and progression free for five or more years without further treatment. Patients in the study historically were expected to be progression free for less than six months and live for about a year, on average, according to a press release.
Al Hadidi said “the beauty” of this therapy is it works for hard-to-treat patients and has the potential to be used for long-term disease control. The possibility of using this treatment on patients in earlier stages of the disease and achieving the same or better results is “what gets most people excited about it,” he said.
“We continue to offer it to patients. I think it’s a really promising therapy. We’re really happy that we have this product here in Arkansas,” Al-Hadidi said.
Multiple myeloma can cause various symptoms like bone fractures, anemia, fatigue and kidney failure, some of which are shared with other diseases, Al-Hadidi said. Typically, multiple myeloma presents in people in their late 60s and is more common among men and African Americans, he said.
Seventy-one-year-old Donna Kidder doesn’t fall into any of those categories and was surprised by her diagnosis in 2012. Kidder said learning she had multiple myeloma was “a fluke” that resulted from a bone density test she requested to assess the efficacy of a drug she was taking to treat her osteoporosis. The test revealed more bone loss than could be explained, she said.
“I was running 10 miles a week and drinking green smoothies for breakfast,” Kidder said. “I’m like, ‘this isn’t fair. I’m in good health.’ But it turns out that good health helped me deal with all the treatments I’ve had in the last 13 years.”
Kidder, who lives in North Carolina, came to UAMS for therapy at the recommendation of a neighbor, whose friend had previously received treatment for multiple myeloma in Little Rock.
“I’m very appreciative of the care that I got at UAMS because I’m not sure I would be talking to you today if I didn’t get that initial care,” she said.
CAR T-cell therapy wasn’t an option at the time, so Kidder initially received a stem cell transplant. Throughout her multiple myeloma journey, she’s received two stem cell transplants and two CAR T-cell therapy treatments.
Kidder received her CAR T-cell treatments closer to home at Duke University Health System. The therapy from the study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting has been the most effective for Kidder, who said she’s been in remission since December 2023.
Patients like Kidder often have to undergo maintenance treatment in between therapies, some of which have difficult side effects, like nausea. Kidder said she’s interested in learning about new treatments, but will consider first the impact on her quality of life before committing to any of them.
Reflecting back on more than a dozen years of living with multiple myeloma, Kidder said treatment for the disease has changed so much, and she’s concerned about cuts to federal funding for medical research generally, “not so much for myself because I get to be 71.”
After her initial diagnosis, Kidder was told she only had three to five years to live. Her goal was to live long enough to see her grandson graduate from high school.
Her grandson has finished his first year in college.
Citing a friend in her 30s who’s been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, Kidder said the disease is hitting younger people and “research is so important.”
The president’s budget request includes cutting the National Institutes of Health’s budget by $18 billion, or 40%, a proposal that has drawn bipartisan pushback from lawmakers who are concerned the cuts would delay or halt the development of treatments and cures for diseases like cancer.
“I’m very concerned about cuts to research… I also feel a responsibility that the nation has paid a lot to keep me alive, it’s been expensive, and so I feel it’s my obligation to live fully,” Kidder said.
Part of that full life includes sharing her experiences with multiple myeloma, especially with newly diagnosed patients.
“I remembered meeting people who had been alive for 20 years with myeloma and I was fascinated to hear about their experience,” she said. “So now, 13 years, I’m that person. I’m that person that gives them hope.”
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