Yesterday was the second day of the 2012 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting.  Although the myeloma-related sessions got a bit of a late start, the day featured a wide range of interesting presentations about multiple myeloma.

Many myeloma-related oral presentations were given in the afternoon and were summarized in updates published yesterday and earlier today.

During the evening yesterday, a poster session took place where important new research findings were summarized in posters displayed throughout a large conference hall. The studies covered a variety of myeloma-related topics, ranging …

Results of a recent small German study show that stem cell transplanta­tion as salvage therapy is most effective in patients who had a long remission duration after a previous transplant.

Specifically, results of the study show that patients who relapsed 12 months or later after their last transplant had significantly longer progression-free and overall survival times after salvage transplantation than patients who relapsed within 12 months. 

According to the study authors, patients who relapse within 12 months of a previous transplant do not benefit from this form of salvage therapy.

Based on …

According to a recent Greek study, elderly myeloma patients who relapse early after receiving therapy with novel agents have a significantly shorter overall survival time compared to patients who remain in remission longer. In addition, results showed that a poorer quality of response to treatment with novel agents is associated with early relapse in these patients. 

“This study confirms other data that a [better quality of] response argues for a good outcome in patients with myeloma,” said Dr. Edward Libby from the University of New Mexico Cancer Center in Albuquerque who was …