Results from a recent clinical study suggest that a new type of response, called an immunophenotypic response, strongly predicts disease progression in elderly multiple myeloma patients. Patients who achieved an immunophenotypic response had superior progression-free survival than patients who achieved a complete response or stringent complete response.

The authors suggested that testing for these three types of responses provides complementary information and that effort should be made to refine response criteria for multiple myeloma.

A number of previous studies have …

As I finish the outpatient phase of my stem cell transplant, I have been receiving a bunch of emails asking for advice about when and how to go about getting a second opinion about one’s myeloma treatment.

I believe that a newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patient should always try to get a second opinion.  But I also believe a myeloma patient should consider seeking a second opinion anytime their oncologist/hematologist suggests a major treatment shift.

For example, maybe you are …

The results of a recent study from Italy suggest that the combination treatment of melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide may increase survival in newly diagnosed elderly multiple myeloma patients compared to melphalan and prednisone alone. However, the rate of side effects increased with the addition of thalidomide.

Despite the higher rate of side effects, the study authors suggested that the combination of melphalan (Alkeran), prednisone, and thalidomide (Thalidomid) (MPT) should be considered a standard of care for newly …

We myeloma patients spend a lot of time in and at hospitals.

Hospitals are places where wonderful things happen – lives are saved, the ill are made well, and worn-out bodies are restored – much due to what the cliché refers to as “miracles of modern medicine.”

There’s another side to hospitals, though, that demands wariness and requires that you pay the greatest attention to what’s going on around you.  Pat Killingsworth wrote about one aspect of this last week …

Donor stem cell transplantation may be an effective treatment for myeloma patients with certain chromosomal abnormalities, according to a recent retrospective analysis of patient data conducted in France.

In particular, the analysis showed that patients with a high risk for poor prognosis - those with the chromosomal abnormalities del(17p), t(4;14), or t(14;16) - achieved similar outcomes after receiving a donor stem cell transplant as patients without these abnormalities.

“Our retrospective analysis indicates for the first time that [donor stem cell …

A recent study found that fatigue in multiple myeloma patients is associated with sleep and mood disturbances, reduced abilities to complete simple physical activities, and elevated levels of physical pain.

The study also finds, however, that pain is not as directly linked to fatigue as sleep, the ability to carry out physical activity, and, especially, mood disturbances. 

Instead, pain's impact on fatigue may be indirect, through its influence on sleep, mood, or overall physical condition.

Based on their findings, the study authors conclude that physicians need to work harder with patients to control the forces that lead …

Hello again from the bone marrow transplantation inpatient unit at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.

I learned yesterday that I will be discharged today and move to outpatient housing. This is exciting news! I still have a long way to go, but with luck the worst is behind me.

I’m so relieved. I know my wife is, too. But now is not the time to relax.

There are dozens of little details to cover as I prepare to move into my new outpatient …