Results of a recent retrospective analysis show that the heavy/light chain test has high potential as a tool for the detection of abnormal monoclonal protein, the evaluation of response to therapy, and as a prognostic marker in multiple myeloma patients.

The heavy/light chain test was more sensitive to low levels of monoclonal (M)-protein compared to conventional detection methods. Thus, the study investigators conclude that the test may become valuable in confirming and quantifying M-protein levels, measuring patient responses to treatment, …

The results of a recent retrospective study show that multiple myeloma patients who receive a donor stem cell transplant upfront experience better progression-free survival and overall survival compared to patients who receive a donor transplant after relapse or disease progression.

Additionally, the study investigators found that having a related stem cell donor and achieving a complete response after the transplant led to better outcomes. On the other hand, treatment with novel agents prior to the transplant had no effect on …

The results of a recent retrospective study suggest that treatment with Velcade or thalidomide may increase multiple myeloma patients’ risk of developing abnormal lung function.

Specifically, patients treated with Velcade (bortezomib)-based regimens were twice as likely to develop lung obstruction, and those treated with thalidomide (Thalomid)-based regimens were twice as likely to develop lung restriction.

However, the study investigators note that their study did not include information about lung disease patients may have had before their myeloma therapy. …

Myeloma Patients May Be At Higher Risk For Restless Legs Syndrome – Results from a recent Turkish study show that restless legs syndrome occurs more frequently in multiple myeloma patients than in healthy adults. Restless legs syndrome is a condition characterized by uncomfortable sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move them, often leading to sleep deprivation. In this study, 18 percent of myeloma patients had restless legs syndrome, compared to 3 percent in the healthy population. Multiple …

Results of a recent German study suggest that PET-CT scans may be more reliable than whole-body MRI in determining the remission status of multiple myeloma patients after stem cell trans­plan­ta­tion.

The investigators conclude that both PET-CT and whole-body MRI provide useful in­for­ma­tion about a patient’s disease status.  However, MRI often incorrectly detects activity in bone lesions that persist after treat­ment.  They there­fore state that PET-CT may be better than MRI for determining remission status.

Similar results were found in a …

The results of a Phase 1 study show that Kepivance reduces the severity of melphalan-related mouth ulcers in multiple myeloma patients. Due to better tolerability, the melphalan dosage could be safely increased to 280 mg/m² prior to a stem cell transplant.

Almost two-thirds of the patients, who all had normal kidney function, had responded to the regimen at 100 days post transplant. The study investigators point out, however, that a Phase 2 trial will be necessary to better determine the …

The results of a recent study show that MRI is more accurate than PET-CT for staging newly diag­nosed multiple myeloma patients and identifying patients with re­lapsed disease.

However, the results also show that PET-CT scans are more useful for eval­u­ating a patient’s response to ther­apy.

The study investigators indicate that their results are similar to those of pre­vi­ous studies that com­pared MRI and PET-CT for diagnosing patients and eval­u­ating response to ther­apy.  They point out, how­ever, that since their study …