Further findings from two clinical studies of Revlimid maintenance thera­py were presented at the 14^th International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Kyoto, Japan, earlier this month.

Both studies involved newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients who received maintenance therapy with Revlimid (lenalidomide).

Results from both studies, which were published in the New England Journal of Medicine last May, indicate that Revlimid maintenance therapy significantly increases progression-free survival compared to a placebo (see related Beacon news). One of the studies also found that Revlimid maintenance therapy improved overall survival of patients.

Both studies …

A new study indicates that patients treated with Mozobil prior to a stem cell transplant may have an increased risk of developing a secondary cancer.

The patients in the new study were being treated for either lymphoma or myeloma.  They were given Mozobil (plerixafor) to improve their chances of harvesting enough stem cells to allow them to undergo an autologous (own) stem cell transplant.

All patients in the study were treated with Mozobil, and all had previously failed to collect enough stem cells for a transplant.

Among the patients in …

Perhaps the title of this column more appropriately should be "Life After CRD," since I've now completed 24 cycles of Kyprolis (carfilzomib), Revlimid (lena­lido­mide), and dexa­metha­sone (Decadron), commonly referred to as CRD, as part of a clinical trial for newly diagnosed patients.

However, since dexa­metha­sone seemed to be the predominate source of my side effects, and be­cause I liked the play on words, I went with the title as shown.

So, I've completed the clinical trial, I've reached stringent complete response, and I've won the first …

The results of a recent retrospective analysis show that long-term treat­ment with the combination of Revlimid, clarithromycin (Biaxin), and dexa­methasone – commonly abbreviated "BiRd" – is effective and safe in newly diagnosed myeloma patients.

Furthermore, the study did not find any significant association between long-term Revlimid (lenalidomide) therapy and an increased risk of developing secondary cancers.

“We did expect these results. It was our sense from following patients who have been treated with lena­lido­mide [Revlimid] long-term and have not received any genotoxic therapy that we did not see increased rates of second primary malignancies,” said …

Celgene, the company that markets Revlimid in the United States and inter­nationally, announced this morning that it has withdrawn its applica­tion in Europe to have the drug approved for use as initial therapy for newly diagnosed myeloma patients as well as for maintenance therapy.

The company also is postponing until next year a similar application it had intended to file in 2012 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The European application was withdrawn due to concerns raised by regulators about the link between Revlimid (lenalidomide) and second cancers (also known as second …

Today is the last day of this year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, which is being held in Chicago. However, the multiple myeloma-related presentations at the meeting concluded yesterday.

A poster session yesterday afternoon featured research on a wide variety of myeloma-related topics, ranging from new treatments being developed for myeloma, to currently used regimens, to second cancers, to precursor myeloma diseases, and much more.

This article summarizes research from that session related to prognostic factors, precursor myeloma diseases, peripheral neuropathy, osteo­necrosis of the jaw, and second cancers.

A summary …

This year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, which is being held in Chicago, began yesterday and goes through Tuesday.

The first of the myeloma-related sessions at this year's meeting began this morning with a poster session, in which important new research findings were summarized on posters throughout a large conference hall.

MLN9708

This morning’s session included two posters about MLN9708 (ixazomib), an oral drug that works similarly to Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib) and is being in­ves­ti­gated for the treat­ment of multiple myeloma as well as …