The results of a recent retrospective analysis show that the sequence of treatment with Velcade and Revlimid may not have a significant effect on outcomes in multiple myeloma patients.

Only patients with kidney disease had significantly longer survival times if they received Velcade first.

The researchers from the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, who conducted the analysis pointed out that further prospective trials are needed to confirm their findings.

The results were presented during a poster session at the 2011 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in December.

Velcade (bortezomib) …

A group of myeloma experts from the International Myeloma Working Group recently published a consensus statement on maintenance therapies for myeloma patients.

In their statement, the experts reviewed the main findings from previous clinical trials that investigated the impact of maintenance therapies containing the novel agents thalidomide (Thalomid), Revlimid (lenalidomide), and Velcade (bortezomib).

Maintenance therapy is a prolonged, and often low-dose, form of treatment given to myeloma patients after their initial therapy. The goal of maintenance therapy is to prevent disease progression for as long as possible while maintaining …

The most recent results of a Spanish Phase 3 clinical trial indicate that Revlimid in combination with dexamethasone delays disease progression in smoldering multiple myeloma patients who have a high risk of developing symptomatic disease.

Specifically, the results showed that high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma patients who received Revlimid plus dexamethasone had a longer time to disease progression and better overall survival than patients who did not receive treatment.

However, the Spanish researchers acknowledged that these results should be confirmed by long-term follow-up data, especially regarding the difference in overall survival.

Dr. Ola …

What were the myeloma-related "hidden gems" of the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting, which ended two weeks ago?

The Beacon asked exactly this question of its Medical Advisors -- the myeloma specialists who generously share their knowledge and expertise in the Beacon's myeloma discussion forum.

And the responses from the Advisors were surprising.

Surprising, because they were so similar.

The three Advisors who responded to the Beacon's question indepen­dently picked the same "hidden gem" -- specifically, the research presented at the meeting showing that the protein …

The initial results from three early-phase clinical trials suggest that the investi­gational drug MLN9708, either alone or in com­bi­na­tion with Revlimid and dexa­methasone, may be an effective treat­ment for both newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients and patients with re­lapsed and/or treat­ment-resistant disease.

The findings from the three trials were presented earlier this week at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in San Diego.

MLN9708 (ixazomib) belongs to the same class of drugs as Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib), called proteasome inhibitors, and it is being developed by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, the same com­pany that developed …

The most recent re­­sults of a Phase 2 clin­i­cal trial in­di­cate that elotuzumab in com­bi­na­tion with Revlimid and dexa­meth­a­sone is safe and ef­fec­tive in re­lapsed and re­frac­tory mul­ti­ple myeloma patients.

Dr. Sagar Lonial from the Winship Cancer In­sti­tute at the Emory Uni­ver­sity School of Medicine in Atlanta pre­sented the up­dated Phase 2 re­­sults at the American Society for He­ma­tol­ogy (ASH) annual meeting in San Diego on Monday.

The preceding Phase 1 trial of elotuzumab showed that 82 per­cent of re­lapsed / refractory myeloma patients had a partial re­sponse or better to the drug in …

Yesterday, the third day of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2011 Annual Meeting in San Diego, was the busiest day of the meeting for people interested in multiple myeloma.  Myeloma-related presentations filled the entire morning and afternoon, and sometimes there were even multiple relevant presentations going on simultaneously.

The morning presentations about therapies combining current myeloma drugs will be covered in this update.  Morning presentations about potential new myeloma therapies were covered in an update published earlier today, and presentations from the rest of the day will be covered in …