Multiple myeloma physicians and researchers are gathering at the 16^th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in London to share the latest findings in the field.  The meeting started on Thursday and will run through tomorrow.

The Myeloma Beacon will report on the most important new findings related to multiple myeloma over the next couple of weeks.

The research presented at the meeting will cover all areas of hematology, which is the study of blood, blood-forming organs, and blood-related diseases, including myeloma.

On Thursday, physicians had the opportunity to attend scientific working groups to discuss specific challenges and advances in their respective fields.  The myeloma scientific working group focused on the ongoing cooperation in myeloma trials in Europe.  Researchers spoke about a number of topics, including the European Myeloma Network Data Center, current clinical trials, and new myeloma drugs that are in early phases of clinical testing.

Education sessions on Friday gave practicing physicians an opportunity to maintain and develop professional knowledge and skills in their fields.  During the myeloma education session, doctors heard about the formation of blood vessels, clinical implications of chromosomal abnormalities, and first-line therapy options for myeloma patients.

Researchers will spend today presenting the latest clinical research on myeloma.  The topics include the biology of myeloma, preventing blood clots, first-line therapy, and stem cell collection.

Also today, a presentation about multiple myeloma will be given at the Presidential Symposium, a session highlighting abstracts considered to be among the strongest submitted to the meeting. Dr. Antonio Palumbo from the University of Torino in Italy will present interim results from a current Phase 3 trial showing that progression-free survival was significantly better for newly diagnosed myeloma patients who received a stem cell transplant than for patients who received a Revlimid-based combination treatment (75 percent versus 59 percent, respectively). These findings were also presented at the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago.

On Sunday, the myeloma portion of the meeting will conclude with a session on treating relapsed and refractory myeloma patients.

Throughout the congress, attendees will also have the opportunity to view and discuss posters on the latest myeloma research.

For more information on the 16^th Congress of EHA, including presentation abstracts and attendance information, please see the EHA meeting website.