Velcade may treat other cancers

In clinical trials Velcade has been shown to slow, halt or even reverse the progression of multiple myeloma.

One trial was so promising, it was halted a year early.

Scientists hope the drug will also prove effective as a treatment for cancers of the lung, breast, ovaries, prostate and colon.

Treatment difficult

Multiple myeloma is a particularly devastating form of blood cancer that results in crippling bone pain, fractures, extreme fatigue, nerve damage and eventually death.

It affects approximately 3,500 people in the UK each year, is notoriously difficult to treat. Even with chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, the average patient will live for only two to four years.

Velcade is the first of a new class of drugs which work by targeting a tiny structure within the cell called the proteasome.

Only discovered in 1980, the proteasome acts as a cell's recycling centre, breaking down proteins for re-use in signalling molecules.

Velcade disrupts the function of the proteasome, and by doing so curbs the growth and proliferation of cancer cells, and triggers their death.

The drug works especially well when combined with conventional chemotherapy, probably by inhibiting the ability of cancer cells to protect themselves.

Already in use in the US, Velcade has been approved for use in Europe following a fast-track review by the European Medicines Evaluation Agency.

It is being made available to patients who have previously received two other therapies and whose disease is progressing.

Good results

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine last year found Velcade slowed, halted or reversed the disease in almost 60% of the 202 patients who tried it, and 10% had a complete remission.

Dr Cathy Williams, a consultant Haematologist, at Nottingham City and Lincoln Hospital, said: "What makes Velcade a real breakthrough is the unique way in which it works and the further potential it may offer in other solid tumour cancers."

Eric Low, executive director of the International Myeloma Foundation, told BBC News Online that the drug represented the most significant advance in treatment for multiple myeloma for over a decade.

He said: "It is indicated for a group of patients who have failed to respond to conventional therapy and who have a very poor prognosis and limited, or no further treatment options.

"It could mean extra years of life for patients who would otherwise die."

Almost 200 other trials are currently under way around the world investigating Velcade's ability to tackle all stages of multiple myeloma as well as different cancers.