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 …

Thursday was the third day of the Inter­na­tional Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Paris.  There were pre­sen­ta­tions from early morn­ing through the evening.

Some of the highlights from the first part of Day 3 of the conference are summarized in this article.  Highlights from the sec­ond part of the day are summarized in a separate article (see re­lated Beacon news).

Treating Older, Newly Diagnosed Myeloma Patients

The first session of the morn­ing was about treating newly diag­nosed mul­ti­ple myeloma patients over the age of 65 years, spe­cif­i­cally those who are in­eli­gible for …

In a session of the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) today, multiple myeloma experts presented the latest data about the efficacy of Revlimid maintenance therapy and discussed the drug’s potential link to second cancers.

Results from a study conducted by the Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) showed that Revlimid (lenalidomide) maintenance therapy following stem cell transplantation significantly extends survival of myeloma patients.  Two other studies investigating Revlimid maintenance, the IFM 2005-02 and MM-015 studies, have not yet shown a survival benefit.

All three studies, however, have raised concerns that Revlimid maintenance …

Yesterday was the second day of the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Paris.  The day was full of presentations from early morning through the evening, and the day concluded with a poster session.

Some of the highlights from Day 2 of the conference are summarized in this article.  For more detailed summaries of the day's sessions, see The Beacon’s extensive Day 2 coverage in the Beacon Forums.

Treating Younger, Newly Diagnosed Myeloma Patients

The first session of the morning was about treating newly diagnosed patients under the age of 65 years.

First, Dr. …

This year’s International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) started in Paris yesterday morning and will continue through Friday.

Yesterday’s schedule included three sessions of oral presentations and a poster session in the afternoon.  The focus of the oral sessions was to present the current understanding of the biochemistry and molecular mechanisms related to multiple myeloma.

These talks were more technical than the ones that will be made later in the week, and their material will not likely have an immediate impact on how current multiple myeloma patients are treated.

In particular, yesterday’s sessions included …