This is a press release talking about Dr. James Berenson and the clinic that he heads The Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research (IMBCR), citing the mean life expectancy quoted by the ACS as 3-5 years compared to the mean life expectancy of his patients of 9.75 years. The press release talks about "breakthrough research" done at the clinic.

Does anyone know what, if any, breakthrough research being done at the IMBCR?  Is Dr. Berenson doing anything different that other mm centers?  David

"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.

2.
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.
3. Presentations and Publications Our
research findings have been presented at annual meetings of the
American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO)

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