Results of a recent Italian study show that a four-drug combination regimen of Velcade, Doxil, dexamethasone, and thalidomide may be more effective than two- or three-drug combinations for multiple myeloma patients who have relapsed or are resistant to prior treatment.

“This study clearly reinforced the idea that aggressive therapy, even in the second-line relapse setting, is of great value,” said Dr. Mario Curti, a hematologist at Los Alamitos Medical Center in Los Alamitos, California, who was not involved in the study. “It allows another treatment option to be considered in the relapse …

Results of a recently published study show that a steroid-free regimen of Velcade and thalidomide is effective in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

This finding is particularly significant for patients who are unable to tolerate treatment with steroids due to their side effects, according to the study’s lead author Dr. Ivan Borello from the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore,

“The purpose of this study was to develop a therapy that could be used for patients in whom steroids for one reason or another were contraindicated.  Those would include …

The results of a recent Japanese study suggest that a vincristine-doxorubicin-dexamethasone regimen without intermittent high-dose dexamethasone reduces the risk of bacterial infection in multiple myeloma patients without affecting the treatment’s efficacy. 

Based on these findings, the study authors recommended avoiding the administration of intermittent high-dose dexamethasone with the vincristine-doxorubicin-dexamethasone regimen in myeloma patients at high risk for infection. 

The combination treatment of vincristine (Oncovin), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and dexamethasone (Decadron) plus high-dose pulses of dexamethasone (referred to as VAD-HD) was first approved as a treatment for advanced multiple myeloma.

It …

Multiple myeloma patients who continued Revlimid treatment after achieving at least a partial response experienced significantly higher overall survival compared to patients who discontinued treatment, according to a recent study published in the journal Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma, & Leukemia.

However, the study authors noted that proper management of side effects is necessary for patients to achieve the survival benefit.

Two previous Phase 3 trials showed that Revlimid (lenalidomide) plus dexamethasone (Decadron) improved overall survival more than dexamethasone alone in patients with relapsed or refractory (resistant) myeloma (38.0 months versus …

The results of a Phase 1 trial suggest that the experimental drug PD 0332991 may be a safe and effective treatment for pre-treated multiple myeloma patients.

Dr. Ruben Niesvizky of the Weill Cornell Medical College, who presented the results at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in Orlando last month, pointed out that data about efficacy is limited at this point because it was a Phase 1 trial. However, he added “We are encouraged [by the results] because we have seen two very good partial responses.”

PD 0332991, which is …

Results of a Phase 1 clinical trial suggest that the cancer drug Treanda, in combination with Revlimid and dexamethasone, is highly active and well tolerated in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients.

Dr. Suzanne Lentzsch, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Cancer Institute, presented the results of the study at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2010 annual meeting in Orlando.

Based on the safety of the Treanda, Revlimid, dexamethasone regimen observed in this study, Dr. Lentzsch believes that this combination may be particularly well suited for older patients …

The results of a number of clinical trials for the treatment of multiple myeloma with Zolinza were presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2010 annual meeting. The trials, ranging from Phase 1 to Phase 3, studied Zolinza in combination with a variety of approved myeloma drugs for the treatment of both early and advanced stages of the disease.

Zolinza (vorinostat) is manufactured by Merck Pharmaceuticals.  It is currently approved for a certain type of lymphoma and is being investigated as a treatment for multiple myeloma (see related Beacon …