A Wollongong Hospital patient became the first person in the world to receive a new immunotherapy drug last month, as part of a cancer trial now underway in the Illawarra.
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A research team at the hospital is investigating a new treatment for multiple myeloma - a blood cancer which starts in white blood cells known as plasma cells and usually affects multiple areas of the body.
Led locally by haematologist Dr Gurdeep Parmar and the Haematology Trials Team at Wollongong Hospital, the region's cancer clinical trials unit is testing to see if the new drug is successful.
"This study is testing a completely new class of drug for myeloma and providing a new treatment option for people whose previous treatments have not worked or their disease has come back," Dr Parmar said.
"We are extremely excited to be the first hospital in the world to treat a multiple myeloma patient with this type of immunotherapy drug."
Wollongong Hospital is one of two sites in the world set up to deliver this clinical trial, with the second located in Victoria.
The health district's Director of Clinical and Laboratory Haematology Professor Peter Presgrave said the trial was an "enormous achievement" that showed the expertise and high-quality research available to Illawarra patients.
"The ISLHD Cancer Clinical Trial Unit continues to expand and grow, providing the local community with greater access to innovative treatments closer to home - that are not yet available on the market," he said.
The trial will be open to 101 patients, who will be treated across five phases of the trial, with men and women over are over 18 able to participate.
They must have have received at least two prior lines of therapy, and have documented evidence of progressive disease, and meet various other criteria, according the the details of the trial.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
