A group of leading myeloma specialists, known as the International Myeloma Working Group, recently collaborated to develop guidelines for the prevention of infections in multiple myeloma patients. The group recommends that patients receive inactivated vaccines for the flu, hepatitis B, and polio as early in the disease as possible. Patients at high-risk of developing infections can be given medications to prevent infections.

Dr. Elias Anaissie of the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences presented these guidelines at the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Paris …

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 …

A group of leading myeloma specialists, known as the International Myeloma Working Group, recently collaborated to develop guidelines for the proper management of anemia with erythropoietin therapy in multiple myeloma patients. The group advised erythropoietin therapy for anemic myeloma patients receiving chemotherapy in order to improve quality of life and to reduce the need for red blood cell transfusions. They further recommended the addition of iron to improve the efficiency of erythropoietin therapy.

Dr. Heinz Ludwig of the Wilhelminen Hospital in Vienna, Austria, presented these guidelines at the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) …

Myeloma researchers and physicians gathered at the 2011 International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) earlier this month to discuss the current under­standing of the biology and treatment of multiple myeloma.

Highlights from each day of the workshop were covered in the Beacon’s daily updates from the meeting.

Now that the IMW has ended, however, and there has been some time to digest all that happened, it seems like a good time to ask: What were the key themes and learnings from the conference?

To answer this question, The Beacon went back and reviewed its coverage of the IMW, and …

A group of leading myeloma specialists, known as the International Myeloma Working Group, recently collaborated to develop guidelines for the proper management of bone disease in multiple myeloma. The group recommended that patients with bone disease should be treated with standard dosages of intravenous bisphosphonates. A minimally invasive procedure called kyphoplasty may also be considered to reduce bone pain and improve functional ability.

Dr. David Roodman of the University of Pittsburgh presented these findings at the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) on May 6 in Paris.

Most multiple myeloma patients develop bone disease, …

Friday was the last day of the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Paris.  The agenda for the day was briefer than the previous days of the conference.  Talks ran from the early morning through mid-afternoon.

The morning began with a session in which myeloma specialists presented consensus reports on vaccination and infection prevention, the management of anemia, blood clots in deep veins, and bone disease.  The Myeloma Beacon will be covering these reports in more detail over the next few weeks.

Throughout the rest of the morning, researchers presented results from ongoing …

Last Thursday, the third day of the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Paris, included numerous presentation sessions throughout the day.

The key session during the second part of Day 3, which concerned Revlimid and secondary cancers, is summarized in this article.  Highlights from the first part of Day 3 are summarized in a separate article (see related Beacon news).

Secondary Cancers

The most important session of the afternoon included talks from the lead investigators of the three Revlimid (lenalidomide) maintenance trials that reported …