A recent study found the combination therapy of thalidomide (Thalomid) and dexamethasone (Decadron), commonly referred to as TD, to be safe and effective as induction therapy in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients with impaired kidney function. The study authors also found that 55 percent of participants achieved normal kidney function after TD treatment. The study results were published in the journal Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

Impaired kidney function is a serious complication that occurs in approximately …

I just returned from speaking to a blood cancer support group in Atlanta. The patients, survivors, and caregivers in attendance were amazing--kind, caring, and self aware. Why were they there? The food? The companionship? To learn more about their cancer and hear me speak? Yes! They came for all those reasons and more.

The bottom line: Everyone felt better after they left (including me) than they did before the meeting started. I left tonight's meeting with a bounce in …

This guide, which will be published as a series of articles over the next couple of weeks, is intended to help clarify the clinical trial process and to answer common questions so that you can decide whether a clinical trial is the right option for you. The guide will explain the different types of clinical trials, address common concerns, provide answers from physicians to common questions, describe patients’ clinical trial experiences, and provide resources for finding a clinical trial.

There …

Leading myeloma specialists from across Europe recently published an article in the journal The Oncologist that summarized the current treatment options and availability of therapeutic agents for multiple myeloma patients in Europe. This article, Part 3 in a series, summarizes the European physicians’ treatment recommendations for patients with relapsed myeloma. Part 1 compares availability of myeloma treatments in Europe and the U.S., and part 2 summarizes physician’s treatment recommendations for newly diagnosed patients. Part 4 will cover the …

Representatives from Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, developer of a proprietary formulation of resveratrol called SRT501, confirmed yesterday that a clinical trial of the drug in multiple myeloma patients was suspended because several patients developed kidney failure.  The Myeloma Beacon reported the trial's suspension in an article earlier this week.

Sirtris representatives also have told the Beacon that all patients who experienced kidney failure during the trial were being treated with only SRT501 when their kidney problems developed.

However, it is still …

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a common side effect of a number of chemotherapy drugs used to treat multiple myeloma. Symptoms range from tingling or numbness of the toes, fingers, feet, hands, or legs, to severe pain—and everything in between.

Like many multiple myeloma patients, I suffer from PN. Some of it began even before I began treatment, most likely caused by nerve compression in and around my damaged vertebrae. Once I began treatment, it rapidly got worse.

My hands became …

The results of a recent study suggest that Zolinza (vorinostat), in combination with Velcade (bortezomib), may be effective in patients with relapsed or refractory myeloma after prior treatment with Velcade. The study was published in the journal Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma & Leukemia.

Velcade has become a standard first-line treatment option for multiple myeloma, but more and more patients are developing resistance to or relapsing after it. Zolinza is a new cancer drug that is already approved …