I have been on Pomalyst (pomalidomide), plus Kyprolis (carfilzomib) and dexa­meth­a­sone (Decadron), since this past July. It has been an inter­est­ing journey, to say the least.

Like Revlimid (lenalidomide) before it, Pomalyst showered me with lots of side effects, ranging from a bright red rash the first cycle, to peeling face and scalp, to extreme cold chills in the middle of the night, to hands shaking so violently that I could not take a picture and get a crisp image. While some of the side effects pulled back with later rounds, …

Results from a recent French study based on data from clinical practice indicate that vitamin K antagonists and low-molecular weight heparin are more effective than aspirin in preventing clots during myeloma treatment with the immuno­modu­la­tory drugs thalidomide or Revlimid.

Specifically, 7 percent of patients receiving aspirin developed blood clots, compared to 3 percent of patients receiving low-molecular weight heparin and 0 percent receiving a vitamin K antagonist such as warfarin (Coumadin).

Interestingly, the rate of blood clot formation was lowest among patients with the highest risk of developing blood clots, which the …

The International Myeloma Working Group, a group of leading myeloma specialists, recently drafted guidelines for the prevention of blood clots in the veins in multiple myeloma patients. The group recommended the use of heparin or warfarin for patients with a high risk for developing blood clots and aspirin for standard-risk patients.

Dr. Antonio Palumbo of the University of Torino in Italy presented the draft guidelines at the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) on May 6 in Paris. In email correspondence with The Myeloma Beacon, Dr. Palumbo said that a comprehensive set of guidelines …