During the course of their disease, multiple myeloma patients some­times develop what physicians call either "extram­edullary disease," "extra­medullary plasmacytomas," or "extra­medullary myeloma."

In medicine, when something is described as "extramedullary," it means it is located outside of the bone marrow.

So "extramedullary" myeloma is myeloma that is outside of the bone marrow.

It occurs when malignant plasma cells collect together and form tumors in parts of the body other than a patient's bones.

This can occur in any myeloma patient, …

Results of a recent analysis suggest that newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients receiving Revlimid or thalidomide as initial therapy have similar prognoses regardless of whether they receive an early stem cell transplant or delay the transplant and continue their initial treatment.

Specifically, the authors of the analysis found that myeloma patients who received a stem cell transplant early in the course of their disease had a comparable survival rate and time to disease progression as patients who continued Revlimid …

Results of a recent study show that multiple myeloma patients who relapse after pomalidomide therapy may benefit from certain salvage therapies, including Velcade, Revlimid, and stem cell transplantation.

Furthermore, patients who received a stem cell transplant after relapse achieved the highest response rate among all patients who received salvage therapy. The results also suggest that Revlimid retains its activity in patients who relapse after pomalidomide therapy.

“[The study] gives a sense of what therapies still continue to have activity [after …

Results of a recent Italian study show that Neupogen and Neulasta are comparable in efficacy and safety for the prevention and treatment of low white blood cell counts in multiple myeloma patients receiving outpatient stem cell transplants.

However, patients who were treated with Neulasta only received one injection after the transplant, which according to the study authors may be more convenient for the patients.

“In our experience, the possibility of a single [injection] is more comfortable for patients, mainly in …

Results of a small, Phase 1/2 Australian study indicate that a combination of Istodax, Velcade, and dexamethasone may be effective in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients.

According to the study authors, patients who participated in the study achieved durable responses and experienced manageable treatment-related side effects with the Istodax combination treatment.

Based on their findings, the study authors concluded that the Istodax combination treatment warrants further evaluation.

“We continue to examine this combination on a [21-day] schedule. We are …

Results of a small Turkish study indicate that laser surgery may be a viable treatment option for cancer patients who experience bisphosphonate-related bone death in their jaws.

Specifically, the study authors found that patients who received laser surgery achieved higher rates of complete healing than patients who received conventional surgery. While the results are suggestive, the study was small and the difference in the rates was not considered significant.

According to Dr. Belir Atalay of Istanbul University in Turkey and …

Results of a recent Swiss study show that multiple myeloma patients who have a high level of stem cells in the blood prior to stem cell transplantation have longer progression-free and overall survival times than patients who have fewer stem cells.

Based on these findings, the study authors recommended that physicians consider the number of stem cells in the blood of myeloma patients when determining their prognoses and developing appropriate post-transplant therapies.

“We feel that [the level of stem cells] …