Celgene, the manufacturer of Revlimid (lenalidomide), announced today positive results from a Phase 3 clinical trial using Revlimid as first-line therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. Results show that Revlimid in combination with melphalan (Alkeran) and prednisone, followed by continuous Revlimid, significantly improved time to tumor progression.

Check back for further coverage on The Myeloma Beacon.

Update: Please see The Myeloma Beacon's full coverage of Revlimid as a first-line therapy for myeloma.

For those with multiple myeloma, kidney impairment treatments may become a significant part of their myeloma treatment, affecting their daily lives. These treatments require an amount of time and care that may impact patients’ daily schedules and long-term plans.

Wherever a patient goes for treatment, the health care providers there will make sure his fluid intake is right for his condition. Often, patients will have to stay in a hospital overnight to be monitored and to receive other treatments, which …

A recent study, presented at the International Academy of Oral Oncology, suggests that in order to prevent jawbone disease, myeloma patients should receive a dental examination before beginning bisphosphonate (BP) therapy.

The duration of BP therapy and the severity of myeloma are linked to the development of jaw bone disease, or osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). ONJ occurs when there is a loss of blood supply to the jaw, causing the jawbone tissue to die.

BPs are a class of …

Kidney failure, which affects 20 percent of all multiple myeloma patients, is a serious complication that can lead to permanent kidney impairment and continued reliance on dialysis. However, a wide range of treatment options is available to myeloma patients experiencing kidney failure. Successful treatment methods include rehydration, correction of hypercalcemia (a condition that results in high serum calcium levels), and discontinuation of non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (such as aspirin or ibuprofen), that reduce blood flow to the kidneys.

A common complication …

Researchers have announced that current clinical treatment guidelines do not adequately incorporate quality of life considerations and are calling for increased attention to the “patient perspective” in myeloma treatment.. Presently, few studies have examined quality of life issues. For those that have, their results have often failed to have a meaningful effect on clinical decision-making.

A study in the European Journal of Haematology identified 15 high-quality clinical trials since 1990 that included quality of life as a principal focus. These …

A study published in the July issue of the journal Blood examines quality of life in individuals who have undergone allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), a procedure often used to treat multiple myeloma patients.

Allogeneic HCT involves the transplantation of stem cells donated from one person to another person. Stem cells, found in the bone marrow, develop into red blood cells, white blood cells, and blood platelets. When a person with myeloma or another type of blood cancer goes through …

Vegetarians have a 45 percent lower risk of being diagnosed with cancers of the blood, including multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to research published in the British Journal of Cancer last Wednesday.

More specifically, the study found that there was a difference of 75 percent relative risk between vegetarians and meat eaters for developing multiple myeloma.

For this research, scientists at the University of Oxford compared vegetarians’ and meat eaters’ risks of developing cancer. This was done by analyzing …