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Positive trial for MGI Pharma drug in MDS

By Tom Neilson
19th April 2006 - MGI Pharma has revealed positive results from a phase III trial evaluating its investigational drug Dacogen injection in the treatment of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, a group of bone marrow disorders which can lead to leukemia.

The trial compared Dacogen with supportive care for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The drug is currently under review by the FDA for use in this indication.

Co-primary endpoints of the study were overall response rate (complete responses plus partial responses) and time to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) transformation or death.

Secondary endpoints included hematologic improvement, duration of response, cytogenetic response rate, transfusion requirements, quality of life, survival, and safety.

The overall response rate was 17%, including a complete response rate of 9% and a partial response rate of 8%. The overall improvement rate for patients who received Dacogen was 30% compared to 7% for those who received supportive care alone.

All patients who responded to Dacogen treatment became or remained transfusion independent, and cytogenetic complete responses were observed in 35% of patients treated with the drug. The most common adverse events related to Dacogen were neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia.

MDS are a group of diseases of the bone marrow characterized by the production of poorly functioning and immature blood cells. People with MDS may experience a variety of symptoms and complications, including anemia, bleeding, infection, fatigue and weakness. Those patients with high-risk MDS may experience bone marrow failure, which may lead to death from bleeding and infection. Over time, MDS can progress to acute leukemia.

Des Plaines woman driven to save brother
Sister launches search for marrow donors

By Jamie Francisco
Tribune staff reporter

August 3, 2006 - Kerry Piest is trying to save her surviving brother. With a wan smile, she admitted this week that she isn't much of a public speaker but she took the stage at the Lake Park band shell in Des Plaines and pleaded for potential bone-marrow donors for Kenneth Piest.

"My brother has leukemia, and we need a match," she said. "He will die if he doesn't get this."

Mention the Piest family in Des Plaines, and 90 percent of residents know the name, said Ald. Tom Becker. Family members are known for their involvement in the local Elks Lodge and in the Midwest Pond and Koi Society, a group devoted to colorful Japanese carp, he said. Some also remember the death nearly 30 years ago of Kerry and Kenneth Piest's youngest brother, who was slain by serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

"They don't want to make it about John Gacy's final victim, but when you think about it, the family's been through so much," Becker said.

On Dec. 11, 1978, Robert Piest disappeared after telling his parents he was approaching a contractor about a summer job. The search for the 15-year-old honors student, who was two badges away from becoming an Eagle Scout, is credited with triggering the investigation that led to the arrest of Gacy.

Hundreds heard Kerry Piest's announcement Tuesday at National Night Out, an event designed to foster relationships between police and the community. It was a sweltering night, and she passed out about 1,000 fliers advertising a blood and bone marrow drive Saturday for her brother Kenneth Piest, 52, who has acute myelogenous leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant.

Robert Piest's death is a subject family members would prefer not to discuss.

"I lost one son," said Kenneth Piest's mother, Elizabeth. "Now I might lose another one."

Until six months ago, Des Plaines native Kenneth Piest said he was the healthiest person he knew. For 17 years he has lived in San Antonio, where he has his own medical practice, specializing in ophthalmic plastic and reconstructive surgery. He ran three or four days a week, lifted weights and adhered to a strict vegetarian diet. In February he visited a doctor to check out a cough and was diagnosed with AML.

Last month Kerry Piest launched a campaign to find a bone marrow donor after tests determined she wasn't a match. As his only sibling, she was his best bet. Their parents are in their 70s, and age prevents them from becoming donors.

Kenneth Piest graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago in 1984. He has been married for about 25 years to Krys, the same woman who was photographed holding his hand at Gacy's trial.

The Piests have led a relatively quiet life since the trial ended in March 1980. Kerry Piest is friendly and cheerful but guarded about discussing her family.

"It always hurts, but you have to move on," Kerry Piest said. "I hate the word `closure.' You live with it every day."

Saving her brother and others in need of bone marrow donors is a priority.

"It's starting with Ken, but it's way beyond that," she said. "It's to bring more people into the registry one person at a time, so when cancer hits, then we'll have something to draw from. This is totally unacceptable what's happening."

The blood and bone marrow drive will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Our Lady of Hope Church Schwab Center, 9711 W. Devon Ave., Rosemont. Call 847-827-6530 or visit www.saveken.org.

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