A clinical trial of a proprietary form of resveratrol has been suspended due to safety concerns.  The resveratrol-based drug, SRT501, was being studied in a Phase 2 trial with multiple myeloma patients.  Phase 2 trials usually are the first clinical trials that look in detail at a drug’s potential effectiveness.

SRT501, which is not yet approved by the Food & Drug Administration, is being developed by Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, biotech company.  Sirtris was founded in 2004 and acquired …

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 2 in a series, summarizes the European physician’s treatment recommendations for newly diagnosed patients. Part 1 compares availability of myeloma treatments in Europe and the U.S., and subsequent articles will summarize treatment recommendations for relapsed patients and management of side effects.

First-Line Treatment Practices

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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 1 in a series, compares availability of the treatments in Europe and the United States. Subsequent articles will summarize the European physicians’ treatment recommendations for newly diagnosed patients, relapsed patients, and management of side effects.

Prior to the introduction of novel therapeutic agents within the …

Multiple myeloma is an unusual type of cancer. With some cancers, the end comes quickly. Others are easily cured. Multiple myeloma patients are stuck in the middle. Multiple myeloma is the ultimate shade of gray. Multiple myeloma doesn't knock you out—it wears you down!

My wife, Pattie, was forced to endure major surgery following her cervical and uterine cancer diagnosis at the young age of 34. Six years later, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. That meant another surgery and …

The protein elafin may be a good indicator of graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) in patients who underwent an allogeneic stem cell transplant. These findings were published recently in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Stem cell transplantation is the preferred treatment plan for multiple myeloma patients under the age of 65. When patients cannot produce enough of their own healthy stem cells for an autologous transplant, they undergo an allogeneic transplant, in which they receive stem cells from a donor.

A common complication …

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.

If …

My name is Pat Killingsworth. I am a brother, a husband and a writer. I am also a multiple myeloma patient.

Over the past few years I have become a big fan of the Myeloma Beacon! The Beacon site is more than a blog – it is a comprehensive online resource for myeloma patients and caregivers.

After some discussion about a number of ways in which I could contribute to the site, the Beacon staff suggested I could write a …