We celebrate the end of cycle six of the phase-II trial of the new drug CC-4047. The first three monthly cycles brought very good results, then the fourth and fifth cycles not so much, but this sixth cycle seems to point to a continuing gradual decline in tumor burden. My two primary markers are IgG and M-spike. In this sixth cycle: The good news is:
  1. The cancer does seem to be declining, if rather slowly, and
  2. There really isn't any bad news.
  3. Life is great!
Dr. L took my blood pressure two different ways and got numbers close to 150/80 each time, higher readings than I have ever had before. Ever. Maybe that's the bad news. I'm not too worried yet, though, because I have recently had very normal blood pressure readings too. Shouldn't my blood pressure be a bit high when visiting my oncologist? Yes, but maybe not in this case because she had already told me that the tumor burden seems to be going down.

Regardless, Dr. L knows that dexamethasone can cause high blood pressure, and is aware of the risks that it brings. She is concerned enough that she has reduced my weekly dose of dex from 20 mg to 12 mg. This does NOT displease me! I hate dex - I just ran a half marathon race ten minutes slower than one I ran in May, and I attribute most of the loss of speed to dex. I wonder what else it's doing to my body. Of course I hope that the reduction in dex will not significantly reduce the efficacy of the treatment.

We will continue with 2 mg of CC-4047 daily and 12 mg DEX once weekly for the seventh cycle. Here are some related links:

      My Myeloma     A discussion of my myeloma, not very technical.
My Treatment History Not technical.
My Test Charts Graphic displays of several key test results over time.
My Test Result Table Best with a wide browser window. Very "technical."

Side effects of the two drugs, CC-4047 and dexamethasone (DEX), are discussed in a previous post.

Other subjects that came up: Here are a few specific test results:

Test   May 29   Jun 26   Jul 24   Aug 22    Remarks
IgG mg/dL 1260 1450 1330 1040 Variation is normal
M-spike g/dL 1.2 1.1 1.1 1.0 Best tumor measure
L FLC mg/dL 4.25 4.03 3.30 3.57 Down is best
Calcium mg/dL 9.7 10.1 9.7 9.3 Below 1.2 is best
Creat mg/dL 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.3 Kidney, lower is better
HGB g/dL 14.5 14.8 14.3 13.8 Hemoglobin, a bit low
RBC M/uL 4.23 4.28 4.17 3.99 Red cell count, low


I'm no longer concerned about lambda free light chains (L FLC). Calcium is dandy. Creatinine is up, but it has been this high in the past. Hemoglobin and red blood cell count are down, but they have been lower. Albumin (liver function, not shown) is normal.

I feel so very lucky, still able to finish a half marathon when I know so many myelomiacs who could not. Live one day at a time and make it a masterpiece!