Continuous treatment with Velcade (bortezomib), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and dexamethasone (Decadron) (VDD), followed by thalidomide (Thalomid) and dexamethasone (TD), is a safe and effective salvage therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, according to a study recently published in the journal Annals of Hematology.

The treatment of myeloma patients who have relapsed or who are resistant (refractory) to treatment remains a challenge for doctors. In these cases, doctors must implement a “plan B” method of treatment, which …

A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reports that the combination therapy of Velcade (bortezomib), thalidomide (Thalomid), and dexamethasone (Decadron), commonly referred to as VTD, was successful at improving response and eliminating residual cancer cells in multiple myeloma patients after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).

In ASCT, the patients’ own stem cells that were collected before high-dose chemotherapy are transplanted back into the patients. Most myeloma patients retain a small number of cancerous cells in …

In a study recently published in the journal Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma & Leukemia, researchers determined that continuous treatment with cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and prednisone at low doses is effective and manageable in multiple myeloma patients who cannot tolerate conventional chemotherapy.

When myeloma patients are unresponsive to treatment or experience relapse, doctors implement their plan B, known generally as salvage therapy. Most salvage therapies consist of the same treatment drugs at an increased dosage or a combination treatment of the …

Multiple myeloma rates have stayed steady among all age ranges over the past 50 years, according to a study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings this month. The research, which tracked multiple myeloma diagnoses among all the residents of Sweden’s third-largest city, Malmo, between 1950 and 2005, contradicts the results of several previously-published studies that found that multiple myeloma rates increased in the 1960s and 1970s.

“The message of the paper is that age-adjusted [risk of developing] myeloma has been stable …

A new study indicates that a short-course treatment with Kepivance (palifermin) prior to high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation may be sufficient to decrease mouth ulcers and the supportive care required by multiple myeloma patients after a stem cell transplant.

In multiple myeloma patients under the age of 65, high-dose chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant is the preferred and most effective treatment option. However, the high dose of chemotherapy often causes severe side effects such as oral …

As survival increases among multiple myeloma patients and as detection methods improve, a higher rate of plasma cell tumors are being detected outside the bone marrow of these patients, a new study published in the Annals of Oncology suggests. The authors also concluded that the increase is not caused by high-dose therapy or novel therapeutic agents.

Non-marrow tumors, also known as extramedullary disease, occur when plasma cell tumors develop outside of the bone marrow in soft tissue or organs.

Coinciding …

The Myeloma Beacon is pleased to announce the launch of an important new service.  Starting today, the Beacon Web site will include a range of online discussion forums.  These multiple myeloma forums will make it easy for patients, caregivers, and others with an interest in myeloma to meet, share, and discuss myeloma-related information.

The Beacon also is announcing today a major new collaboration that has been arranged in recognition of the significance to the myeloma community of the …