Each year, The Myeloma Beacon publishes many news articles sum­ma­rizing the latest research findings about multiple myeloma.  As in recent years, 2013 was a year filled with important multiple myeloma-related news.

During 2013, a new drug, Pomalyst, was approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma; researchers presented new findings about other potential new treat­ments; experts learned more about the factors that influence a patient’s prog­no­sis and reported improvements in survival over the past decade; the role of stem cell trans­planta­tion and whether to use maintenance therapy were issues that continued to garner debate; and much more.

To give the myeloma community some perspective on the wide range of myeloma-related news published in the past twelve months, The Beacon has compiled a list of the news articles its readers found particularly interesting during 2013.

These articles have been grouped by the Beacon editorial team into topics, which are listed below in de­creas­ing order of overall popularity.  The text accompanying each topic description includes links to the spe­cif­ic articles that were popular last year.  In addition, some of the topic descriptions include links to rel­e­vant Beacon topic (tag) pages.

#1: New Treatments Under Development – Of greatest interest to Beacon readers in 2013 were articles about new treatments under development for multiple myeloma.  These articles ranged from one about the future of treatment for multiple myeloma, to a column written by Dr. David Vesole of the John Theurer Cancer Center about treatments on the horizon beyond Kyprolis and Pomalyst, to a preview of results for the newest treat­ments and novel immunotherapies being studied, to the latest results specifically for a new monoclonal antibody called SAR650984.

#2: Survival – Beacon readers were very interested in articles about the prognosis and survival of people diagnosed with multiple myeloma.  They were particularly interested in news that showed the survival of myeloma patients has significantly improved over the last decade, survival of different ethnic and age groups of myeloma patients has increased, and long-term survivors typically have very robust immune function.

#3: Advice From Myeloma Experts – Beacon articles that discussed myeloma experts’ opinions about the treatment of myeloma were also very popular last year.  A column written by Dr. S. Vincent Rajkumar from the Mayo Clinic that discusses whether achieving a complete response should be the main goal of treatment, a sum­mary of a consensus statement about risk classification, and a blueprint for pursuing a cure for mye­lo­ma were among the most popular.

#4: FDA Approval Of Pomalyst – In February 2013, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Pomalyst (pomalidomide, Imnovid) for the treatment of people with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies.  In addition to the announcement of the approval, Beacon readers were also interested in which myeloma patients physicians were likely to treat with Pomalyst, as well as a ques­tion and answer article about the drug.

#5: Highlights From Medical Meetings, Particularly Data On Potential New Myeloma Treatments – Each year, the latest myeloma-related research findings, including results from clinical trials testing potential new treatments, are presented at medical meetings.  Highlights from the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting as well as daily updates from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting were popular among readers.

#6: Chemo Brain – An article that garnered a lot of interest last year is one about “chemo brain,” a term that refers to cog­ni­tive impairment cancer patients often experience after treatment.  A study showed that nearly half of the myeloma patients had chemo brain after initial anti-myeloma therapy, and half of the patients ex­per­i­enced further cognitive impairment after stem cell transplantation.

#7: Revlimid Maintenance Therapy – Beacon readers were also very interested in the latest research re­lated to Revlimid (lenalidomide) maintenance therapy and its role in the treatment of multiple myeloma. They were interested in updates from three clinical trials investigating the benefits and risks of Revlimid main­te­nance therapy as presented at the International Myeloma Workshop and ASH.

#8: Stem Cell Transplantation – The majority of the Beacon's regular readers who are myeloma patients have undergone a stem cell transplant (see related Beacon weekly poll).  It is perhaps not sur­pris­ing, there­fore, that a number of Beacon articles about trans­plan­ta­tion were popular last year.  Particu­lar­ly popular articles included those about trends in the use of stem cell transplantation, extended post-transplant treat­ment, and how continued response after transplantation may improve survival.

#9: Infection – There was a noticeable uptick last year in published research related to infection and its re­lationship to multiple myeloma. Several articles on the topic attracted the attention of the Beacon's read­ers, including one that showed the risk of infection is high and rising among myeloma patients, and another which reported that certain infections are linked to an increased risk of developing myeloma.

#10: Chromosomal Abnormalities And Genetic Mutations – The Beacon's readers last year were also interested in articles about chromosomal abnormalities that may influence symptoms at diagnosis and genetic mu­ta­tions that drive the progression of myeloma.