• HOME
  • BEST OF PARTY PHOTOS
  • FEATURES
    • Best Of Cover Shoot
    • Pet Owner’s Stories
    • People
    • Places
    • Issues
    • Remembering
    • Things
    • To Do
  • DEPARTMENTS
    • Finance / Real Estate
      • Financial Articles
      • Real Estate
        • Real Estate Experts
        • Top 10 Most Expensive Homes Sold
        • Articles
    • Around Town
    • Business
      • Belle Hall Shopping Center
      • Lowcountry Women in Business
      • MP Business
    • Dwellings
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Food & Drink
    • Giving Back
    • Health & Wellness
    • Love & Marriage
    • Pets
    • Relax & Retire
    • Sports & Fitness
  • Read Magazine
  • MORE MAGS
    • Charleston Women 👩‍🏫🏢
    • Lowcountry Cuisine 🧀🍷
    • Best of Mt Pleasant Mag 🏆🏆
    • MP Business Mag 🏢
    • MP Pets 🐶🐱
    • Charleston Independent School Directory 🏫
    • MP Senior Living 👴👵
    • More Mags
      • IOP Mag
      • SI Mag
      • MP Town Hall Magazine
  • DIRECTORIES
    • Attorney Directory
    • 2025 Charleston Wedding Venues
    • Pool Builders/Services Directory
    • Financial Planners
    • Mount Pleasant Area Hotel Directory
    • East Cooper Worship Guide
    • East Cooper Fitness Directory
    • Senior Living Directory
    • 2023 Local CPA Tax Directory
    • Mount Pleasant Apartment Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE

Mount Pleasant Magazine

Mount Pleasant Magazine is the premier lifestyle magazine for Mount Pleasant, SC. Read about local news, events, businesses, people, and more. Subscribe today or read our digital magazine online.

  • Best of Mount Pleasant
    • 2025 Best of Mount Pleasant Including Previous Years
    • Best of Mount Pleasant Winner Articles
    • Best Of Party Photos
  • Podcasts
    • Mount Pleasant Podcast
    • Carolina Real Estate Podcast
    • Georgetown the Podcast
    • Coastal Home Podcast Video Tour
    • Best of Mount Pleasant Podcast
    • Hammock Coast Podcast
    • More Podcasts
      • Charleston Women Podcast
      • Isle of Palms Podcast
      • Charleston Pet Podcast
      • Charleston Wedding Podcast
  • Top Ten Homes Sold
  • Advertise
    • Advertise With Us
    • Media Kit
    • Video Testimonials
  • About Our Team
  • MORE
    • Real Estate Experts
    • MP Town Hall
    • Attorney Directory
    • News
    • MP Neighborhoods
    • East Cooper Online Network
    • Contact

Breath Of Hope: Small Cell Lung Cancer Takes Big Step Forward

Posted by MPM Leave a Comment

Dr. Mariam Alexander, oncologist with MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.
A cancer diagnosis of any kind can be devastating. In terms of lung cancer, a diagnosis of small cell lung cancer is especially so, as the disease has a poor prognosis. It can be hard to detect and spreads easily, making it complicated to treat. But to paraphrase South Carolina’s state motto, “Where there is breath there is hope,” and hope recently got much brighter with a new treatment available at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.

The words ‘bi-specific T-cell engager,’ (BiTE), may not mean much to those outside the medical field, but this type of targeted therapy, known as tarlatamab, is a game changer for small cell lung cancer patients whose cancer has not responded — or has stopped responding — to frontline treatments like chemotherapy.

Dr. Mariam Alexander.
Dr. Mariam Alexander.

“Think of BiTE therapy as having two arms and two targets; one arm grabs the T-cell — or immune cell — and the other arm grabs the cancer cell. Then it brings the two together so the immune cell can kill the cancer cell,” explained Dr. Mariam Alexander, an oncologist with MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. She served as the site leader for part of the clinical trials of tarlatamab, an anti-cancer medication which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration this summer. The treatment is administered through an intravenous line and spreads through the bloodstream, allowing the tarlatamab to attach wherever the cancerous DLL3 cells have spread throughout the body.

Small cell lung cancer only accounts for about 15% of lung cancer diagnoses, but unlike non-small cell lung cancer, which can often be treated with surgery if caught early, small cell lung cancer is fast growing, and available treatments are not known to last.

“Small cell lung cancer must be treated with chemo and immunotherapy if it’s caught at an early stage. But it’s rarely caught at an early stage; more often, it’s diagnosed after it has spread,” said Alexander. She added that while small cell lung cancer initially responds well to chemotherapy, the response isn’t ‘durable,’ an oncology term for a treatment that lasts. Following chemo, she said that some patients continue to respond to immunotherapy, but most patients do not, and the cancer returns months later.

“What they’re seeing with tarlatamab is a durable response, so patients who are responding continue to respond for a long time, and it doesn’t have the toxicities of chemotherapy,” Alexander explained. “It is really great that this therapy has been approved, because patients with small cell lung cancer don’t have many options.”

The new treatment is not without side effects; they tend to be short-term and intense, but greatly outweigh the side effects of chemotherapy, according to Alexander. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity can occur as a result of the body’s immune response; CRS can cause fever, low blood pressure and trouble breathing, and patients with neurotoxicity present with an altered mental state. Now that it has been through clinical trials and approved, these side effects are known and quickly managed.

“We are admitting the patients for the first two doses for 24-hour monitoring, and then receiving them in the clinic after that as an outpatient,” Alexander said, giving credit to the nursing staff in the HOPE Unit at MUSC Health’s Ashley River Tower, who are well-versed in managing these side effects through similar treatments for blood cancers.

Though tarlatamab is the first approved treatment for solid tumors specific to lung cancer, treatments similar to BiTE are available for liquid tumors like lymphomas and myeloma. Trials are currently underway to evaluate whether the treatment for small cell lung cancer should begin earlier, rather than delaying treatment to confirm the results of chemotherapy.

Alexander is hopeful that the methods used in this revolutionary treatment for small cell lung cancer could be applied toward solid tumors of other types. “Cancer as a whole is actually hundreds of distinct diseases. But hopefully the methods of this therapy can be applied to find treatments for others in the future,” she smiled. “It will be incredible to have more drugs of this nature, and that is where the oncology solid tumor field is moving.”

By Anne Toole

Sharing is Caring

Possibly Related:

Mount Pleasant Podcast logoShelby Rogers: A Tennis Legend Bids Farewell A depressed woman laying on a couch.Bridging the Gap: Suicide Prevention Through a Daughter’s Eyes Brady LabelleToo Young: Coping with Childhood Cancer Digital scale and tape measure. Photo by mojzagrebinfo on Pixabay.Weight Loss Journey: Routes to Health and Happiness

Filed Under: Health & Wellness

Advertisement

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search The Site

We're on Facebook We're on X (formerly Twitter) Mount Pleasant Magazine Youtube Channel We're on Pinterest Mount Pleasant Magazine Facebook Community We're on Instagram
Ad: South Carolina Federal Credit Union, enjoy life banking on the best.
Ad: Visit Woof Gang today!
Mount Pleasant Magazine Sep/Oct 2023 magazine coverREAD DIGITALLY
Read the digital magazine
now.
GRAB A COPY
Where can I pick up a copy of Mount Pleasant Magazine?
SUBSCRIBE
Get Mount Pleasant Magazine Delivered.
Ad: Premier Health and Wellness in Mount Pleasant, SC. Let’s Redesign Your Health & Wellness.
Read about the History of the Bridge Run
Visit Palmetto Christian Academy.org
Ad: 1st Choice AC, Heating, Plumbing and Gas, for the best AC Service for your home in Mount Pleasant, SC.
Pleasant Family Dentistry in Mount Pleasant, SC. Experience the BEST, and find out why we've been awarded 7 times in the BEST of MOUNT PLEASANT!
Ad: Visit Front Beach IOP and SHOP, DINE and DRINK in the SUNSHINE.
Ad: Get Carried Away - Real Food, Real Southern, Really Good!
Click for Stores & Services
on Coleman Boulevard
Coleman Blvd Merchant Alliance
Best of Mount Pleasant logo is a registered trademark
Ad: Every Day is a Good Dog Day at Michael's Barkery

Most Recent Posts

Palmetto Christian Academy Mount Pleasant’s #1 Private School 11 Years Running!

Emily Faile, Academic Counselor with Palmetto Christian Academy, sat down for a chat with host Brian Cleary. Their opening discussion revolves around why she believes the Academy was named Best … Continue Reading

Georgetown’s New Gem: The Making of The George Hotel

Get the inside story on The George Hotel, Georgetown's exciting new addition! Host Bill Macchio sits down for a compelling conversation with Christy Whitlock, a Realtor and developer with The … Continue Reading

Georgetown, SC Rising: A Look at the City’s Dramatic Growth & Downtown Revival

Join host Scott Richards and Main Street Director Al Joseph for an insightful look into the remarkable transformation sweeping across Georgetown, SC. This video dives deep into the revitalization of … Continue Reading

Front Street Georgetown

Opening Batch: Georgetown Crafts First Brewery

A craft beer fan and teacher from Cincinnati, Chase Runyan started brewing in his house by tinkering with kits and learning how to bottle the beer after fermentation. After making five or six batches … Continue Reading

Revolutionized: Georgetown’s Downtown Makeover

When the port city of Georgetown was laid out in 1729, merchant-oriented businesses and homes lined the land side of Front Street, originally called Bay Street, overlooking the sparkling Sampit River, … Continue Reading

Gold Standard: Georgetown’s Own Crowned Olympic Champion

When 23-year-old Nike athlete and Georgetown native Melissa Jefferson arrived at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June, she was determined to secure her … Continue Reading

More Front Street Georgetown

SEARCH

Get Our Free Newsletter!
Mount Pleasant Apartments
Pleasant Family Dentistry
Water's Edge Dentistry
34 Waterway Island Drive

Copyright © 2025 · Mount Pleasant Magazine, All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy

▲