Opinion: Kadian, A Little-Known Pain Drug – In the latest article published in the opinion section of the Myeloma Beacon, Lori Puente, whose husband Dave is a myeloma patient, writes about Dave’s experiences managing pain after a T8 vertebra fracture in 2008. Dave had been on a fentanyl patch as well as two oral pain drugs, but did not respond well to these drugs. Lori requested that Dave’s doctor prescribe Kadian, a morphine sulfate extended-release oral pain drug, based …

Aeterna Zentaris And Yakult Honsha Sign Licensing Agreement For Myeloma Drug Perifosine – Canadian drug developer Aeterna Zentaris signed a licensing agreement with the Japanese company Yakult Honsha last week for the development, commercialization, and marketing of the cancer drug perifosine in the Japanese market. Under the terms of the agreement, Aeterna Zentaris will receive an upfront payment of US $8.3 million, up to US $60.9 million in milestone payments, and royalty payments on sales in Japan. Perifosine is …

Results of an Italian study show that patients taking Revlimid who progressed on thalidomide had similar overall response and survival rates as patients taking Revlimid who discontinued thalidomide after achieving at least a partial response.

Based on these results, the study authors concluded that Revlimid (lenalidomide) may be equally effective in myeloma patients who previously progressed on thalidomide and myeloma patients who previously responded to thalidomide.

Revlimid and thalidomide (Thalomid) belong to the same class of drugs called …

Bafetinib May Prevent Bone Loss For Cancer Patients – A series of preclinical studies indicate that the drug bafetinib (INNO-406) inhibits bone deterioration in cancer patients who are at high risk for bone loss, including multiple myeloma patients. Although bafetinib is being developed by CytRX for the treatment of certain types of leukemia, the latest preclinical studies showed that bafetinib also suppresses the activity of bone cells that break down bone and cause fractures, bone pain, and high blood calcium …

Results of a recent French study show that multiple myeloma patients with the chromosomal abnormality t(4;14) have a high response rate after stem cell transplantation, but continue to have poor overall survival and short remission times.

Compared to conventional chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation helped the patients with t(4;14) achieve higher-quality responses. However, most patients continued to experience quick and aggressive relapses after stem cell transplantation.

The study authors indicated the need for investigation into consolidation and maintenance strategies that would …