Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma patients may already suffer from sensory deficits prior to treatment, likely due to disease-related decreases in peripheral innervation density.

The optimal treatment strategy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma is consolidation with melphalan, stem-cell transplantation, then lenalidomide maintenance.

Continuous treatment with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone improved progression-free and overall survival in transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma patients.

Treatment with bortezomib prior to autologous stem cell transplant resulted in superior outcomes in multiple myeloma patients with end-stage renal failure.

In a phase I trial, the oral AKT inhibitor afuresertib demonstrated single-agent activity against hematologic malignancies, specifically multiple myeloma.

Researchers from Japan believe they have identified a novel staging system based on hemoglobin and plasmacytoma that may help to stratify patients with multiple myeloma who are treated with novel therapeutics.

Carfilzomib given at a higher dose as a slow intravenous infusion over 30 minutes resulted in a very high response rate in a heavily pretreated myeloma population.

A comparison of melphalan, prednisone plus either thalidomide or lenalidomide found that patients assigned to lenalidomide had fewer grade 3 or higher toxicities and a better quality of life at the end of induction therapy.

Treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma with the three-drug combination of panobinostat/bortezomib/dexamethasone resulted in a nearly 4-month improvement in progression-free survival compared to treatment with bortezomib/dexamethasone alone.

A phase II trial of propylene glycol-free melphalan in patients with multiple myeloma has met its primary endpoint, according to a statement released by the drug manufacturer.

The NICE announced that newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients will be guaranteed access to treatment with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (Velcade).

The novel experimental drug sotatercept increased bone mineral density and bone formation in patients with osteolytic lesions of multiple myeloma who had not used bisphosphonates, a phase II study showed.

Results of a new study indicate that half of patients with multiple myeloma were referred to specialist palliative care.

The combination of bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone resulted in a partial response or better in more than 60% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to results of a phase II trial.

Results of a large meta-analysis indicated that treatment with lenalidomide for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma was associated with an increased risk for developing secondary hematologic malignancies.

Results from a phase I/II trial indicate that carfilzomib may be a safe and effective substitute for bortezomib in multiple myeloma patients whose disease progressed during treatment with a bortezomib-containing regimen.

More than one-third of African American patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance or multiple myeloma were found to have an inherited risk factor for the disease, according to the results of a European study.

The International Myeloma Working Group recently released a consensus statement updating recommendations for the management and treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who are not eligible for standard autologous stem-cell transplantation.

Two alternative multiple myeloma plasma cell surface markers have been identified and could be important for subclassification, prognostication, and treatment stratification of patients with multiple myeloma.

The adverse event profile of single-agent carfilzomib suggests that the agent is an important treatment option for patients with advanced multiple myeloma, particularly those with pre-existing peripheral neuropathy or those who are at risk for the development of peripheral neuropathy.

This article reviews the hematologic safety profile of carfilzomib in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, as assessed in a cross-trial safety analysis of four phase II studies, and makes recommendations for the appropriate management of hematologic adverse events.

Patients able to achieve stringent complete response after undergoing autologous stem-cell transplantation for multiple myeloma achieved improved long-term outcomes, including overall survival and time to progression, compared with patients who achieved lesser levels of response.

The results of a univariate analysis have shown that the presence of hyperdiploidy and chromosomal aberrations del(17p13), t(4;14), and +1q21 are all associated with shorter time to progression from smoldering multiple myeloma to active disease.

Researchers have helped to better define the spectrum of light chain (AL) amyloidosis by identifying that AL amyloidosis patients with myeloma who have more than 10% bone marrow plasma cells or those with hypercalcemia, renal failure, anemia, and lytic bone lesions have a similar prognosis to patients with overt myeloma.

Adding vorinostat to bortezomib for the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma resulted in a statistically significant increase in progression-free survival compared with bortezomib alone, according to results of a new study.

The addition of the oral pan-deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat to bortezomib helped to elicit responses in about one-third of heavily pre-treated patients with multiple myeloma who were refractory of bortezomib, according to the phase II results of the PANORAMA 2 study.

Pomalidomide, an immunomodulatory drug, combined with low-dose dexamethasone improved progression-free survival in patients with refractory or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma compared with standard of care high-dose dexamethasone, according to a new study.

Numerous small series of patients suggest that the prognosis for non-secretory myeloma patients is likely no worse than the prognosis for patients with traditional secretory myeloma, and in some settings may be superior.

Patients with multiple myeloma who underwent autologous stem cell transplantation may have a continued response to the treatment even after the traditional disease assessment at 100 days. A new study indicates that this continued response maintained prognostic value and should be taken into account when considering post-transplant therapies.

Researchers in London have identified a number of new genetic variants that are linked to myeloma, and one specifically linked to a telomerase RNA component gene called TERC, that helps to control the aging process by acting as a cell’s internal clock.