Results of an Italian study show that patients taking Revlimid who progressed on thalidomide had similar overall response and survival rates as patients taking Revlimid who discontinued thalidomide after achieving at least a partial response.

Based on these results, the study authors concluded that Revlimid (lenalidomide) may be equally effective in myeloma patients who previously progressed on thalidomide and myeloma patients who previously responded to thalidomide.

Revlimid and thalidomide (Thalomid) belong to the same class of drugs called immunomodulatory agents; however, they produce different side effects. Compared to thalidomide, Revlimid …

An international group of myeloma researchers has recently identified five genetic variations that may be associated with an increased risk of developing thalidomide-related peripheral neuropathy.  Several of these genes are involved in repairing nerves or controlling inflammation in the peripheral nervous system.

The researchers indicated that these genetic variations may be a tool to help identify patients who are at a greater risk of developing thalidomide-related peripheral neuropathy.

However, the researchers pointed out that their findings were based on data from patients who received intermediate doses of thalidomide and who developed the …

Results of a recently published study show that a steroid-free regimen of Velcade and thalidomide is effective in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

This finding is particularly significant for patients who are unable to tolerate treatment with steroids due to their side effects, according to the study’s lead author Dr. Ivan Borello from the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore,

“The purpose of this study was to develop a therapy that could be used for patients in whom steroids for one reason or another were contraindicated.  Those would include …

Results of a recent Canadian study show that the use of novel agents, particularly Velcade and Revlimid, as salvage therapy after stem cell transplantation improves overall survival and post-relapse survival of multiple myeloma patients, including high-risk patients who relapsed early following transplantation.

Although multiple myeloma remains an incurable disease, the introduction of novel agents, such as thalidomide (Thalomid), Velcade (bortezomib), and Revlimid (lenalidomide) has lead to significant improvements in disease outcomes.

In their analysis, the Canadian researchers sought to determine the effect of these novel agents on the outcomes …

Results of a recent study show that multiple myeloma patients who were initially treated with either thalidomide or Revlimid demonstrated strong responses to treatment with Revlimid and pomalidomide following relapse. In particular, researchers observed the highest response rates in patients who received treatment with pomalidomide.

Dr. Sumit Madan of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, presented the study results at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Orlando last month.

Research has previously shown that thalidomide (Thalomid) and Revlimid (lenalidomide), which belong to the same class of drugs …

According to the results of a large Phase 3 clinical trial, Zometa increases overall and progression-free survival rates among multiple myeloma patients compared to Bonefos and is more effective in preventing bone loss and fractures.  Additonally, the trial found that inclusion of thalidomide as part of an induction regimen further improved responses. 

Dr. Gareth Morgan of the Royal Marsden Hospital in London presented the results, recently published in The Lancet (abstract), at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in Orlando today.

“I think it is incredibly compelling that the …

Yesterday was the second full day of the 2010 American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Orlando. It was a particularly busy day in terms of material related to multiple myeloma, with numerous oral presentations during the day and an extensive poster session in the early evening.

One of the first presentations of the day was actually a press conference held to review the results of a Phase 3 study comparing the efficacy and safety of two different stem cell transplant regimens for multiple myeloma (abstract).

In one arm of this …