Intas Pharmaceuticals To Market Bortezomib In India – Intas Biopharmaceuticals has recently launched Borviz (bortezomib) in India for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Bortezomib is marketed in the U.S. under the brand name Velcade. The medication is given as an intravenous injection, and the dosage is based on individual medical conditions. About 3.5 million cancer cases have been diagnosed in India and statistics show that the age of onset for multiple myeloma is decreasing from the current 65 years of …

The Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act of 2009 was introduced to the Senate on February 26. Clinical trials play a critical role in developing new treatments for many types of cancer, including multiple myeloma. Participation in these trials may also lead to more favorable outcomes for cancer patients.

Currently, group and individual health insurance issuers and group health plans may decide not to cover routine services in clinical trials that they cover in standard therapy under the premise that …

A recent report published in Blood journal monitored the effects of Revlimid (lenalidomide) and dexamethasone (Decadron) on patients with relapsed or refractory myeloma who exhibited cytogenetic, or chromosomal, abnormalities.

A cytogenetic abnormality is a difference in either the number or structure of a person’s chromosomes, which carry DNA. The researchers in this study focused on three common cytogenetic abnormalities that occur in myeloma patients: del(13q), del(17p13) and t(4;14).

Del(13q) refers to a deletion of a large section, …

Scientists recently identified a gene that controls the production and differentiation of stem cells from which all blood cells arise, a discovery that could improve treatment options for myeloma and other blood cancers.

The study, published on April 7 in the Cancer Cell journal, describes the JunB gene as a control on the processes of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) proliferation, or rapid growth, and differentiation into various types of blood cells.

The gene's mechanisms were discovered through an experiment …

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced that Medicare will now cover the use of positron emission tomography, or PET scans, for myeloma patients.

PET is an imaging technique that can be used to scan the whole body for abnormal cellular function. According to the CMS decision summary, PET imaging improves both physician decision-making and the health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries who have myeloma.

In myeloma patients, PET scans can detect lesions …

Physicians discussed upfront and induction therapy at the XII International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) last month. During their discussion, they focused on stem cell transplantation as an early treatment method for eligible multiple myeloma patients.

The concepts of upfront and induction therapy are very similar. Upfront therapy is any therapy given to previously untreated patients, while induction therapy is defined as the first treatment toward reducing the number of cancer cells in a patient before subsequent treatments. Therefore, this IMW discussion …

The International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) published what is now the standard response criteria for multiple myeloma, says a recent article in the Leukemia journal.

Though many other organizations created their own response criteria in the past, the IMWG recognized the need for one uniform list of criteria to be used in future clinical trials. The other organizations’ criteria have largely been abandoned following the adoption of the IMWG list in 2006.

Response criteria measure tumor response to treatments, providing …