A recently published study may change the goals many myeloma special­ists use to make treatment decisions for newly diagnosed myeloma pa­tients planning on having a stem cell transplant.

The study also has potentially broader implications. Indeed, it may influ­ence ongoing debate on a fundamental controversy about how multiple myeloma, in general, should be treated.

The authors of the new study looked at data for 539 myeloma patients who failed to achieve even a partial response to their initial (induction) treat­ment regimen …

A group of European researchers recently published an extensive review of the imaging techniques cur­rently used in the diag­nosis and follow-up of multiple myeloma and related diseases.

The researchers assessed the benefits and limitations of several dif­fer­ent imaging techniques, in­­clud­ing traditional X-rays, computed to­mog­ra­phy (CT), com­bined positron emission to­mog­ra­phy and CT scan­ning (PET/CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

According to the researchers, the whole-body X-ray skeletal survey re­mains the method of choice for the detection of bone lesions. However, they …

A recent Spanish study adds important findings to the growing literature about the measurement and significance of minimal residual disease in multiple myeloma.

Myeloma patients are said to have minimal residual disease if, after having responded well to treatment, they nevertheless continue to have myeloma cells in their bodies.

In their study, the Spanish researchers used a sensitive new technique known as deep sequencing to conduct minimal residual disease testing. They used the technique to test for residual disease in …

Findings from a prospective Phase 2 clinical trial indicate that the com­bi­na­tion of Revlimid, Velcade, and dexamethasone is effective in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients.

The trial enrolled 64 patients, who had been treated with a median of two prior therapies, at six different U.S. cancer centers from 2006 to 2008.

Nearly two-thirds of the patients in the trial achieved at least a partial re­sponse, despite the fact that more than half of the patients had previous­ly been treated …

Results from a German retrospective study show that repeated whole-body mag­netic resonance imaging may identify smoldering myeloma patients with an increased risk of progressing to symptomatic multiple myeloma.

In their study, the German researchers looked at smoldering myeloma patients who had whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at the time of diagnosis and during regular follow-up visits.

The researchers found that patients whose follow-up scans showed pro­gres­sion of their disease had a 16.5-fold higher risk of progressing to symptomatic myeloma …

A group of Spanish researchers published a summary last year of the patterns of re­lapse and progression they observed in multiple myeloma patients who underwent stem cell trans­plan­ta­tion as part of their upfront therapy.

The researchers observed re­lapse in over half of the patients included in the study.  Among these patients, the majority had only achieved a partial re­sponse after trans­plan­ta­tion.

They also found that how a patient re­lapsed had an impact on their prog­nosis after re­lapse.  Patients who re­lapsed …

The findings of a recent retrospective study may alleviate some of the concerns patients and physicians have had about Revlimid and the risk of secondary cancers.

The study found that the risk of developing a secondary cancer as a result of treatment with Revlimid occurred mainly when a patient had been treated with oral melphalan at the same time as Revlimid.

Revlimid (lenalidomide) did not appear to be associated with an in­creased risk of secondary cancers when administered together with