Final results from a Phase 2 study show that Kyprolis can be an effective treat­ment for re­lapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients, with nearly a quarter of these patients responding to treat­ment.

Dr. David Siegel, from the John Theurer Cancer Center and lead investigator of the study, said the results dem­onstrate that Kyprolis (car­filz­o­mib) has “excellent activity with low toxicity.”

Based on the results of this study, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Kyprolis for use in …

The number of bone lesions detected by whole-body magnetic resonance imaging after stem cell transplantation may predict overall survival of multiple myeloma patients, according to the results of a recent German study.

In particular, patients without bone marrow lesions after stem cell transplantation had significantly better two-year overall survival rates (100 percent) than patients with more than 20 bone marrow lesions (57 percent).

“In our study, we found a negative prognostic effect of residual lesions after therapy,” said Dr. Jens …

Monday was a big day for me.

After undergoing 36 consecutive weeks of Revlimid, Velcade, and dexamethasone therapy since my stem cell transplant, I was hoping that Monday would be the day I could officially begin my easier-to-tolerate maintenance regimen.

Combination therapy with Revlimid (lenalidomide), Velcade (bortezomib), and dexamethasone (Decadron), known as RVD, had been tough for me to take over the last few months.  My platelet and white blood cell counts had been low and continued …

Before I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2010, medical science was not my field of expertise, but rather my wife’s. She is a pediatric endocrinologist and had taught me about pediatric diabetes and other metabolic disorders.  

I, on the other hand, was an expert in municipal law. I also had developed an expertise in construction accidents because, for eight years, I had been working with a New York City government agency that regulated construction. I was responsible for editing …

A recent study demonstrates that better treatments are still needed for multiple myeloma patients who develop extramedullary disease.  Specifically, the results show that these patients have poorer progression-free survival and overall survival compared to patients without extramedullary disease.

The results also show that extramedullary disease is more common in patients with high-risk multiple myeloma.

Extramedullary disease occurs when multiple myeloma cells develop in the soft tissues and organs outside of the bone marrow. It can occur in newly diagnosed myeloma, …

Dr. Michel Attal from the Purpan Hospital in Toulouse, France, presented a review of current maintenance therapies for multiple myeloma during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting last month.

The focus of Dr. Attal’s presentation was on whether there is evidence to support the use of the novel anti-myeloma agents thalidomide (Thalo­mid), Revlimid (lenalidomide), and Velcade (bortezomib) as mainte­nance therapy after initial therapy and stem cell transplantation.

Maintenance therapy refers to a prolonged, and …

Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Kyprolis (car­filz­o­mib) for the treat­ment of multiple myeloma patients who have received at least two prior ther­a­pies (see related Beacon news).

In this article, The Beacon addresses important questions multiple myeloma patients have been asking about the FDA decision.

What exactly did the FDA approve?

The FDA approved Kyprolis for the treat­ment of multiple myeloma patients meeting specific criteria.  The patients must have received at least two prior …