Articles tagged with: Smoldering Multiple Myeloma
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Researchers from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently published what they describe as a "curative blueprint" for myeloma.
The "blueprint" outlines key issues the researchers believe need to be addressed if medical science is to achieve a cure for myeloma.
A crucial question that needs to be answered, the researchers argue, is whether treating "early myeloma" is more advantageous than waiting until the disease has progressed to the symptomatic, or active, stage.
The NIH researchers define "early myeloma" as symptomatic myeloma with limited organ damage, or smoldering multiple myeloma with …
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This year’s American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, which is being held in Chicago, began on Friday and goes through Tuesday.
Sunday started with a poster session in which important new research findings were summarized on posters displayed throughout a large conference hall.
The studies presented during the session were on a wide variety of myeloma-related topics, including new treatments being developed for myeloma, currently used regimens, smoldering multiple myeloma, and findings on initial therapy.
Some of the posters included preliminary results from ongoing clinical trials. Others described the design …
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During a session at the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) held in Japan earlier this month, Dr. María-Victoria Mateos of the University Hospital in Salamanca, Spain, discussed whether smoldering multiple myeloma patients should be actively treated.
The current standard of care is to monitor smoldering myeloma patients and to begin treatment only when their disease progresses to symptomatic multiple myeloma.
However, in Dr. Mateos's opinion, smoldering myeloma patients who are at high risk of progressing to symptomatic myeloma should be offered early treatment.
During the IMW, Dr. Mateos presented updated …
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Initial results of an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial show that Kyprolis in combination with Revlimid and low-dose dexamethasone may be effective and safe in high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma patients.
Specifically, the results show that all patients responded to the combination therapy, with 75 percent of patients achieving at least a near complete response.
Progression-free or overall survival results are not yet available, though, to indicate whether the combination therapy delays progression to myeloma or extends overall survival.
Dr. Ola Landgren from the U.S. National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health …
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Results from a recent retrospective study indicate that chromosomal abnormalities may be useful for predicting which smoldering myeloma patients have a higher risk of progressing to active, or symptomatic, multiple myeloma.
Specifically, researchers from the Mayo Clinic found that patients with a chromosomal abnormality known as t(4;14) progressed to myeloma faster, and had shorter survival compared to patients with other chromosomal abnormalities.
“This study shows that risk of progression from smoldering multiple myeloma to symptomatic multiple myeloma is affected by the underlying cytogenetic type of the disease, with t(4;14) having the highest …
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SF1126 Shows Promise As A Treatment Option For Myeloma Patients – Findings from a preclinical study suggest that the Semafore Pharmaceuticals’ investigational drug SF1126 may have anti-myeloma activity and may enhance the effect of Velcade (bortezomib). Similar to perifosine and GDC-0941, SF1126 works by inhibiting an enzyme in cancer cells known as phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K). This disrupts the cell division cycles and triggers cancer cell death. The investigators found that SF1126 inhibited myeloma growth by 94 percent and was particularly effective when administered in combination with Velcade. Based on their results, the investigators recommend that SF1126 be tested in combination with Velcade in a Phase 1 clinical trial. For more information, please refer to the study in Cancer Chemotherapy Pharmacology (abstract).
Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial To Study PVX-410 In Patients With Smoldering Myeloma – The pharmaceutical company OncoPep has launched a Phase 1/2 trial of the investigational cancer vaccine PVX-410 in patients with smoldering multiple myeloma. PVX-410 is a therapeutic cancer vaccine that targets specific proteins found on the surface of myeloma cells. Preclinical studies have shown that PVX-410 may be effective in stimulating the immune system to kill myeloma cells. For more information on the Phase 1 trial, including trial locations, please see the clinical trial description.
Mixed Exercise Program May Be Safe And Improve Quality of Life Of Multiple Myeloma Patients – Results from a recent British study show that a mixed exercise program may be feasible, safe, and may improve the quality of life of myeloma patients. Additionally, the program may help patients regain muscle strength. According to the investigators, only a small number of previous studies have evaluated the impact of exercise programs on myeloma patient health and quality of life. Thus, the researchers developed an exercise program, which consisted of both gym and at-home workouts, and tested it with 37 myeloma patients in a single-arm clinical trial. The program included cardiovascular exercises, such as running or cycling, as well as weight lifting to improve muscle strength. The researchers found that a majority of the patients adhered to the program and that their upper limb strength and measures of quality of life improved. They noted, however, that their findings need to be confirmed by a randomized trial. For more information, please see the study in the journal BMC Cancer (abstract, which includes a link to a provisional full-text version of the article in PDF form).
Researchers Identify Factors Associated With Infection During Velcade Treatment – Korean researchers recently found that, among patients receiving treatment with Velcade, those who had severely low levels of lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) and those who received less than eight cycles of treatment were more likely to experience severe infection during their treatment. Based on their findings, the researchers recommend that patients on Velcade be closely monitored during early treatment cycles for signs of severely low lymphocytes levels. For more information, please refer to the study in the International Journal of Hematology (abstract).
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Results from a recent study indicate that the two leading models for classifying smoldering myeloma patients based on their risk of disease progression disagree significantly more often than they agree.
The two models were developed independently by researchers at the Mayo Clinic and the Spanish 'PETHEMA' working group.
Given the results of their comparison, the authors of the current study argue that further studies are needed to define a more broadly applicable set of criteria to assess a smoldering myeloma patient’s risk of progression.
The current study did not assess which of …