Research gives patients hope for the future

A grandmother diagnosed with an incurable cancer almost a decade ago is still largely symptom-free after taking part in a pioneering research study.

Jayne Stokes, who lives near Dover, only discovered she had smouldering multiple myeloma after a routine health check when she switched GPs after moving house.

The condition is a type of blood cancer that develops in plasma cells and affects the bone marrow. Currently, treatment is not recommended until the disease progresses further and is classed as ‘active’.

But researchers found encouraging results after testing a lab-created protein called daratumumab. It mimics natural antibodies and the data showed it more than halved the risk of the disease progressing, or the patient dying.

Jayne, 67, said: “I feel very privileged to have been able to be part of the trial, and to have the opportunity to potentially help others in the same situation as me.

“Being able to try this new treatment also has benefits for me as it has helped keep the cancer at bay so really it is a win-win situation.”

The study was led in the UK by haematology consultant Dr Jindriska Lindsay, who is based at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. More than 400 patients from around the world were involved.

Jindriska said: “We usually do not recommend treatments such as chemotherapy when the disease is at an early stage, because they can do more harm than good.

“But the new immunotherapy treatments such as daratumumab are much less harmful. We needed to know whether using them could increase survival or delay the progression of the disease.

“The data shows we can have an impact soon after diagnosis for high-risk patients, rather than waiting until they are more unwell. It is fantastic that some patients like Jayne still do not need more aggressive treatment.

“I am very grateful to each of the 11 patients who joined the trial at K&C. They were all very unselfish and keen to contribute to our understanding of the disease.”

Jayne joined the trial in 2018, and was randomly selected to receive three years of monthly injections of the antibody treatment. Other patients received no treatment, but had regular tests to check the progression of the disease.

Jayne, a retired clerical assistant, said: “I can’t praise the whole team at K&C enough; they have been wonderful.

“Hearing the word cancer is such a shock but I am so well looked-after and I feel very lucky to be under their care.

“I hope that the research means other people who will be told they have this form of cancer will also hear the words ‘but…there is a treatment that can keep it away’.”

The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Clinicians now hope the treatment will be approved for use in the UK.