Drugs for Multiple Myeloma

Drugs for multiple myeloma - Multiple myeloma drugs - Malignancy of the blood called multiple myeloma, is suffering in the Czech Republic about four thousand people. Every doctor of the year revealed an additional 400 patients. The end of in patients treated for the disease die within a few years, a new drug but they can extend their life and cure for some diseases. According to doctor Jana Strauba of the 1st Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital General but the treatment inhibits the outdated rules and excessive bureaucracy.
Drugs for Multiple Myeloma

How many people in our country suffer from multiple myeloma? Each year approximately 400 patients are diagnosed new. a very serious disease this affects the type of white blood cells called plasma cells, and cause a lot of complications. Symptoms initially clear, many patients are only discovered at an advanced stage with a lot of changes in the body that can no longer be restored. Then the treatment is even worse. This is a problem especially of the elderly, the average age of patients is 60 to 65 years, so for those five years or seven years of life play a big role.

Drugs for Multiple Myeloma

How is it coming one? Each patient asks why me. What causes it, we can not clearly say. Perhaps it is the interaction of factors such as nutrition, radiation causes cancer, the environment and so on. There is clear evidence of inheritance, the disease is not contagious.
See also: Multiple Myeloma Survival Rate After Stem Cell Transplant
How does it manifest? Bone damage, calcium levels high in the blood, bone pain, bone fracture force. They have often broken vertebrae, spinal oppress cable damage and is manifested by back pain, their paralyzed legs. Multiple myeloma also causes damage to the bone marrow and thus reduce the number of red and white blood cells, platelets and protective antibodies, which are associated with infections frequent and severe, and immune disorders. The third body, that affects the disease, the kidneys. Because of the damage swelling in the legs and disorders of urination.

But announced a breakthrough in the treatment of this disease is creeping! In the last decade, we have managed to improve the survival of patients. Two years ago, patients with the disease survive for an average of five years, now seven years old. Even suggest that in some patients the disease can be cured permanently. A few years ago it was myeloma, a disease incurable and the treatment schedule for anything in return. We now know up to 20 percent of patients are cured and up to 60 percent to keep the long term in good condition - Multiple myeloma drugs.

What causes a break in the treatment? the new drug, which arrives in the Czech Republic. If the disease is shown in time, they permanently can cure patients, the disease will not come back. Of course, we have the treatment of such other cancers, but the fund is much more effective. The drug targets tumor cells that do not affect as many other people, therefore, have less side effects as cytostatic therapy classic.

Targeted therapy just described it? Very simple, one drug that is active in the field of protein breakdown products of the cell so that the block. The Protein that accumulates in the cells and the cells divide quickly kill. The second type of drug that works on the DNA and hinders the formation of tumor cells, while other cells are not affected. Multiple myeloma is characterized by the cells reproduce very quickly, so we have to monitor the treatment response in a few weeks, months at the most. The drug has side effects, of course, we know about them, but they are incomparable with other therapies.

How the treatment of one patient? patient care put the cost about one million crowns. We calculate that a year in the life of the patient is worth the 170,000 crown. To many it may seem a lot, but we are talking about human survival. In addition, the treatment of patients with oncological problems other much more expensive and the length of their survival extends mostly on the month.

It is necessary that the patient stay in the hospital? For the most part it is an outpatient treatment and the patient to provide maximum comfort. The exception is the transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells, which is still one of the main points of therapy.

Why, then, is not suitable in the treatment of the patient required? The problem is the rules are outdated from when we learn with this work of the drug. The treatment of multiple myeloma economically demanding, so we try the financial capacity is limited the care insurance directed at patients who could especially benefit, and therefore we must we with the insurance company agree on the criteria, how long the patient treated and the number of cycles of treatment has to undergo.

The treatment is limited to eight or nine cycles. Lately, however, and moved to a new studies showed that patients who had failed after four cycles of refinement, they can still benefit from treatment continue. But the rule was established about six years ago and is still valid. But no longer play for the patient, however, the patient is against, so we want to abolish. There is a possibility that the input will be more expensive treatment, but the patient then he is not treated and does not need further treatment in the long term, is not harmful to the health system.
See also: Multiple Myeloma Blood Cancer
You're dealing with the insurance company about the increase in payment for this treatment? insurance companies in the Czech Myeloma Group were told about a month ago, and on the need to change the with we basically agree. The only limitation that bothers us now is part of the State Institute for Drug control, in which the old rules apply. We act because of the development of treatment guidelines and a new set of rules that reflect the modern treatment this time.