The results of a recent Phase 2 clinical trial suggest that siltuximab in com­bi­na­tion with dexa­metha­sone may be effective for some multiple myeloma patients resistant to prior dexa­metha­sone-containing treatments. However, siltuximab in combination with high-dose dexa­metha­sone may be associated with a high rate of serious side effects.

Dr. Peter Voorhees from the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, presented these results at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference in San Diego last month.

Although Dr. …

Combined data from two recent Phase 1 clinical trials suggest that twice-weekly marizomib, with or without low-dose dexamethasone, may be effective for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Dr. David Vesole from the John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack, New Jersey, who was not involved in the study, described marizomib as having “modest activity in relapsed/refractory myeloma.”

Dr. Paul Richardson from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston presented the results at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting …

Interim results from a Phase 2 study show that panobinostat may be clinically beneficial for certain multiple myeloma patients with advanced disease.

In the study, patients who had relapsed and were no longer responsive to Velcade-based treatments received panobinostat in combination with Velcade and dexamethasone.

Although the results generally are being viewed as favorable, “It is hard to interpret them because you don’t really know how the patients would have done with just Velcade and dexamethasone alone,” explained Dr. Leif …

Cardamonin Shows Anti-Myeloma Activity – Results of a recent Chinese preclinical study show that cardamonin, a compound derived from a plant used in Traditional Chinese medicine, prevents myeloma cells from growing and kills them. Cardamonin works by suppressing NF–κB, a protein that has been linked to cancer and disorders of the immune system. This study showed that cardamonin was effective after 24 hours of exposure. Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that further investigation of cardamonin as an anti-myeloma …

Four clinical trials presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2011 annual meeting in San Diego last month suggest that Zolinza, in combination with a number of approved myeloma drugs, may be a treatment option for relapsed and treatment-resistant multiple myeloma patients.

However, results of a key Phase 3 trial involving the drug were disappointing, and they call into question whether the drug will receive formal FDA approval as a treatment for myeloma.

Zolinza (vorinostat), which is marketed by …

The initial results from three early-phase clinical trials suggest that the investi­gational drug MLN9708, either alone or in com­bi­na­tion with Revlimid and dexa­methasone, may be an effective treat­ment for both newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients and patients with re­lapsed and/or treat­ment-resistant disease.

The findings from the three trials were presented earlier this week at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in San Diego.

MLN9708 (ixazomib) belongs to the same class of drugs as Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib), called proteasome inhibitors, …

Results of a recent study show that newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients initially treated with a combination of cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dexamethasone have better response rates and less severe side effects than patients treated with Revlimid-dexamethasone or cyclophosphamide-Revlimid-dexamethasone.

The survival outcomes for the patients treated with cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dexamethasone also are promising.

However, the difference in survival rates between the three treatment regimens is not statistically significant.

This is partly because "the numbers [of patients in the study] were too …