This week’s Beacon forum poll asks, “How does your quality of life compare to your quality of life prior to your multiple myeloma symptoms and diagnosis?” There is still another day left for people to respond to the poll, but so far, “moderately worse” seems to be the leading answer.

I answered “significantly better.” How can this be? I often feel aching bones and less-than-boundless energy, and although I require more sleep, I have a harder time falling asleep. …

The results of a recent Phase 3 study conducted throughout Europe show that treatment with a combination of Velcade, thalidomide, and dexamethasone leads to superior clinical benefits compared to treatment with thalidomide and dexamethasone alone in multiple myeloma patients who have relapsed or progressed after a stem cell transplant.

Specifically, more patients responded to the three-drug regimen.  In addition, the group of patients treated with the three-drug combination responded longer and did not progress as quickly as those treated with …

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved carfilzomib, which will be marketed under the brand name Kyprolis, for the treat­ment of people with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior ther­a­pies.

Specifically, Kyprolis has been approved for myeloma patients who have already been treated with at least Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib) and either Revlimid (lena­lido­mide) or thalido­mide (Thalomid) and who have also progressed on or within 60 days of completing their …

How many times have you seen an abstract summarizing the results from a study or clinical trial in multiple myeloma that reads something like this:

The median progression-free survival (PFS) for 24 patients taking drug X was 18 months, and the median overall survival (OS) was 73 months.

So what useful conclusion can you make from this?

In a nutshell, not too much.

First, you need to understand what the "median" is. In statistical terms, if you have a set …

Results of a recent Phase 3 study suggest that preventative treatment with certain oral antibiotics does not significantly decrease the rate of bacterial infections among newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients receiving initial treatment.

In the study, myeloma patients who received prophylactic (preventative) antibiotics during the first two months of chemotherapy experienced statistically similar rates of infections during those two months and for up to two years following chemotherapy as patients who did not receive antibiotics.

“Unfortunately, prophylactic antibiotics did not …

A study from the Netherlands reported the other day that multiple myeloma patients experience low health-related quality of life.

Further, the study says that quality of life (QOL) worsens as time goes on.

As I read the headline for the short study description published in The Myeloma Beacon (“Quality of Life Decreases After Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis for Many”), I thought, “Oh those Dutch researchers, they’re such kidders.”

Who else has the time to pluck out 150 or so patients …

Results from a small British Phase 2 study suggest that therapy with a combi­nation of cyclophosphamide, thalidomide, and dexamethasone may deepen multiple myeloma patients’ responses after stem cell transplantation. In addition, the combination therapy was well tolerated.

However, the British scientists note that larger randomized trials are required to confirm these results.

“The results suggest that post-transplant consolidation therapy with a multi-drug regimen such as cyclophosphamide-thalidomide-dexamethasone may improve the depth of response in the aftermath of autologous transplantation,” said Dr. …