Within the past nine months, two new agents have been approved for the treat­ment of re­lapsed mul­ti­ple myeloma.

In July 2012, a sec­ond gen­er­a­tion pro­te­a­some in­hib­i­tor, Kyprolis (car­filzomib), was approved for patients with re­lapsed/refractory dis­ease. In Feb­ru­ary of this year, Pomalyst (poma­lido­mide) was approved for use in similar patients.

These two agents, with dexamethasone (Decadron) or in com­bi­na­tion with other drugs, should fur­ther broaden the armamentarium for the treat­ment of myeloma as we con­tinue …

Currently, there are three major controversies in multiple myeloma patient management: early versus late transplant, treat or observe ‘high-risk’ smoldering myeloma, and whether to use maintenance therapy. The latter is predominantly an issue following autologous stem cell transplantation.

In May, one of the world’s premier medical journals, the New England Journal of Medicine, published three articles about clinical trials comparing Revlimid (lenalidomide) maintenance versus observation.  In two of the studies, Revlimid maintenance was given following autologous stem cell transplantation.  …

Novel agents, such as Velcade (bortezomib) and Revlimid (lenalidomide), have greatly advanced the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. Indeed, by incorporating novel agents as induction therapy prior to consolidation with high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation, we have made huge strides in survival outcomes over the last 10 years.  However, treatment with anti-myeloma agents may be associated with side effects that negatively impact quality of life.

Recently, two advances have been reported resulting in a decrease …