Researchers in the U.S. have discovered a new cancer drug which effectively treats transplant rejections.
The researchers from the University of Cincinnati (UC) say the new therapy for transplant patients, targets the antibody-producing plasma cells that can cause organ rejection.
According to a study by Dr. Steve Woodle and colleagues, the cancer drug bortezomib which is used to treat multiple myeloma, or cancer of the plasma cells, is also effective in treating rejection episodes caused by antibodies that target transplanted kidneys and the drug is able to reverse rejection episodes that do not respond to standard therapies.
Dr. Woodle, the lead author of the study and chief of transplant surgery at UC, says that they found evidence from other research that bortezomib works well in suppressing transplant rejection in the laboratory and also worked well in models of autoimmune diseases.
T-lymphocytes, or T cells, are white blood cells that are thought to cause the rejection of transplanted organs and Dr. Woodle and his team began searching for agents that targeted plasma cells in 2005.
Dr. Woodle says it is clear that plasma cells and the antibodies they produce play a bigger role in rejection than previously thought, and current therapies fail to target the plasma cells which may produce the antibody.
The researchers gave the drug to six kidney transplant recipients with treatment-resistant organ rejection and in each case, treatment with the drug provided prompt rejection reversal, prolonged reductions in antibody levels and improved organ function with suppression of recurrent rejection for at least five months.
Jason Everly, an oncology pharmacist at UC and co-author of the study, says the toxicities associated with this drug were predictable and manageable and were much less than those associated with other anti-cancer agents and they hope it will be a viable therapeutic treatment option for such patients.
Woodle says although this data is promising, it is difficult to overestimate the implications of this drug - the researchers are currently conducting four industry-supported clinical trials to expand these findings.