A recent study found the combination therapy of thalidomide (Thalomid) and dexamethasone (Decadron), commonly referred to as TD, to be safe and effective as induction therapy in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients with impaired kidney function. The study authors also found that 55 percent of participants achieved normal kidney function after TD treatment. The study results were published in the journal Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

Impaired kidney function is a serious complication that occurs in approximately 20 to 30 percent of myeloma patients at diagnosis and in more …

An expert panel of European hematologists has published guidelines for treating newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients with thalidomide (Thalomid) in addition to melphalan (Alkeran) and prednisone. The guidelines are intended to help physicians and patients manage the side effects commonly associated with thalidomide treatment.

For the last four decades, the standard front-line therapy for newly diagnosed myeloma patients who are ineligible for stem cell transplantation has been a combination regimen of melphalan and prednisone (MP). However, the results from five Phase 3 clinical trials have indicated that the addition …

Pat Killingsworth, a former social studies teacher and real estate agent from Wisconsin, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma three years ago. “You try to find meaning when you’re 51 years old and somebody says you have cancer and are going to die in three to four years,” said Killingsworth.

“What are you going to do with three to four years? I decided I wanted to write two or three books to help cancer patients. I wanted to help them speed up that learning curve so they could make better treatment decisions.”

Killingsworth …

A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reports that the combination therapy of Velcade (bortezomib), thalidomide (Thalomid), and dexamethasone (Decadron), commonly referred to as VTD, was successful at improving response and eliminating residual cancer cells in multiple myeloma patients after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).

In ASCT, the patients’ own stem cells that were collected before high-dose chemotherapy are transplanted back into the patients. Most myeloma patients retain a small number of cancerous cells in their blood and bone marrow after ASCT. These cells are a major …

The combination therapy of cyclophosphamide, thalidomide (Thalomid) and dexamethasone (Decadron), commonly referred to as CTD, is effective and well tolerated in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients, according to a new study published in the journal Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma & Leukemia. Patients who underwent autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) after CTD therapy had higher success rates and longer survival.

Currently, thalidomide plus dexamethasone is one of the standard treatments for newly diagnosed myeloma patients. However, this treatment is associated with a high rate of blood clotting in the deep veins …

A combination therapy of weekly Velcade (bortezomib), Doxil (pegylated liposomal doxorubicin), and dexamethasone (Decadron) led to a high response rate and moderate side effects in elderly patients with relapsed or refractory myeloma, according to a study published in the journal Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma & Leukemia.

Previous studies have shown a complementary, additive relationship between Velcade and other drugs, such as Doxil and dexamethasone. However, a three-fold combination has never been evaluated in patients over the age of 70, even though 70 is the median age at diagnosis of multiple …