Looking back at all that has hap­pened in the world of mul­ti­ple myeloma since Jan­u­ary of 2012, it is hard not to be impressed by the many im­por­tant devel­op­ments that took place.

There is the obvious fact that, during that time, not one, but two new drugs to treat myeloma were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis­tra­tion (FDA).  Prior to 2012, the FDA had not approved a novel anti-myeloma ther­apy in over six years.

Yet 2012 was meaningful to the myeloma com­munity for reasons beyond the ac­­tiv­ity at the FDA’s …

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently released an updated version of its guidelines for the diag­nosis and treat­ment of multiple myeloma.

The most notable change to the guidelines is the addi­tion of Kyprolis (carfilz­omib), in com­bi­na­tion with Revlimid (lena­lido­mide) and dexa­metha­sone (Decadron), as an alter­na­tive treat­ment option for newly diagnosed myeloma patients eligible for a stem cell trans­plant.

The guidelines also now list Pomalyst (poma­lido­mide), in com­bi­na­tion with dexa­meth­a­sone, as a preferred salvage treat­ment for myeloma.

NCCN guidelines are followed closely by physicians and by many U.S. health …

Results from a Phase 1b clinical trial indicate that Kyprolis in com­bi­na­tion with Revlimid and low-dose dexa­meth­a­sone is effective and safe for re­lapsed multiple myeloma patients.

Moreover, at the higher doses of Kyprolis and Revlimid tested during the trial, a greater share of patients responded to treat­ment than was the case in a trial testing Revlimid, Velcade, and dexa­meth­a­sone in a similar patient population.

In addi­tion, noticeably fewer cases of periph­eral neu­rop­athy – that is, pain, tingling, or loss of sensation in the extremities – were observed in the current study in …

A new study provides the first detailed look at Kyprolis when it is used in multiple myeloma patients with kidney damage.

The focus of the study is on determining how Kyprolis (car­filz­o­mib) is processed in the bodies of myeloma patients and, in particular, if the drug is processed differently depending on how much kidney damage a patient has.

In addi­tion, the study in­ves­ti­gates whether kidney damage affects how often patients experience side effects when treated with Kyprolis.

Based on the results of their study, the authors conclude that Kyprolis's dosing can be …

This year’s meeting of the American Society of He­ma­tol­ogy (ASH) was held De­cem­ber 8 through 11 in Atlanta.

During the meeting, The Beacon pub­lished daily up­dates that provided overviews of the im­por­tant mul­ti­ple myeloma findings pre­sented during the meeting.  After the meeting concluded, The Beacon began pub­lishing in-depth articles about the key re­search findings.

This article, how­ever, shifts the focus to the bigger picture: What were the key findings of the meeting? Were there re­­sults with im­medi­ate implica­tions for the treat­ment of mul­ti­ple myeloma?  Did the re­search …

ARRY-520 is one of several potential new anti-myeloma agents that was highlighted at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting earlier this week.

Initial results from two clinical trials show promise for ARRY-520 (filanesib), alone or in com­bi­na­tion with other myeloma drugs, as a thera­peutic option for heavily pretreated multiple myeloma patients.

“ARRY-520 shows promising activity in com­bi­na­tion with dexa­meth­a­sone in heavily pretreated myeloma patients,” said Dr. Jatin Shah, from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and lead investigator of both studies.

Based on their findings, the study investigators …

Tuesday was the final day of this year’s American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting, which took place in Atlanta.  The meeting concluded in the morning with a series of oral presentation sessions held simultaneously.

Three of the morning sessions focused on the biology of multiple myeloma as well as preclinical and clinical studies of treat­ment options for multiple myeloma patients.

This update will summarize the research presented during the session that focused on myeloma treat­ment options.  In addi­tion, it will summarize results from an important late-breaking study of poma­lido­mide that also was …