A promising experimental method for treating ad­vanced leukemia may point the way to important new treat­ment options for multiple myeloma.

“It is very exciting,” said Dr. Leif Bergsagel, a myeloma specialist from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona who was not involved in the study investigating the leukemia treat­ment. “I think this ap­proach could and should be extended to multiple myeloma.”  He pointed out, however, that “It will be several years before myeloma patients will be treated this way.”

In two recently published research articles, scientists from the University of Pennsylvania described initial results of a pilot study they are conducting.  The results …