For some myeloma patients in Canada, smuggling thalidomide (Thalomid) from Mexico, Brazil, India, and other developing countries is the only option they have because they cannot pay the full price for the drug at home. Patients obtain thalidomide over the Internet, in person, or by sending prescriptions with relatives who are visiting the countries where it is sold for a fraction of the Canadian cost.

Purchasing full priced thalidomide at $900 per 30 tablets of 50 milligrams in Canada is illogical to some patients when they can purchase 50 tablets of 100 …

A recent study in the April issue of Blood compared combination treatment regimens for elderly myeloma patients.

The study found that elderly multiple myeloma patients undergoing treatment with melphalan (Alkeran) and prednisone , known as an MP regimen, enjoyed higher 1-year and overall survival rates than those undergoing treatment with thalidomide (Thalomid) and dexamethasone (Decadron), known as a TD regimen. The combination of thalidomide and dexamethasone resulted in greater tumor reduction, but it did not ultimately translate to better outcome, due to the high rate of fatal toxicities. …

A recent study has shown that thalidomide (Thalomid) given with prednisone can improve survival in multiple myeloma patients who have undergone autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Thalidomide has been known to be effective in patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory myeloma, but its effect after ASCT has not been known.

In this study, 269 patients with newly diagnosed but stable myeloma underwent ASCT that had been conditioned with single high-dose melphalan (Alkeran). After the ASCT, 129 of the patients were given prednisone-only therapy, while 114 received a prednisone-thalidomide combination. …

At the recent XII International Myeloma Workshop (IMW), physicians addressed the ongoing "cure versus control" debate in treating multiple myeloma. Though it can seem like a philosophical matter, the debate is extremely important to patient care. Whether a doctor aims to cure the patient or to control the disease will affect the type of treatment selected.

Even though there is still no cure for multiple myeloma, many physicians believe that the long-term survival experienced by many patients is nearly the same as a cure. At the same time, the line between disease …

At the XII International Myeloma Workshop held last month, physicians discussed induction therapy for patients who are not eligible for stem cell transplants.

Induction therapy is the initial treatment given to patients to reduce the number of cancer cells, usually given prior to subsequent treatments. For patients ineligible for transplants, such as the elderly, induction therapy has historically consisted of administering the drugs melphalan and prednisone, but this has changed considerably in recent years.

A number of clinical trials have investigated the combination of melphalan and …

Physicians discussed upfront and induction therapy at the XII International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) last month. During their discussion, they focused on stem cell transplantation as an early treatment method for eligible multiple myeloma patients.

The concepts of upfront and induction therapy are very similar. Upfront therapy is any therapy given to previously untreated patients, while induction therapy is defined as the first treatment toward reducing the number of cancer cells in a patient before subsequent treatments. Therefore, this IMW discussion focused on the very first steps doctors take during treatment of multiple …

At the recent twelfth annual International Myeloma Workshop (IMW), physicians discussed strategies for managing multiple myeloma symptoms. Their topics included deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially fatal blood clot in the body's large veins, and myeloma-induced bone disease, including "soft spots" and fractures.

DVT involves blood clot formation in the deep veins of the body, and if a clot dislodges, it may travel to other areas and block blood flow to vital organs. Researchers estimate that approximately 70 percent of all critical blockages of lung blood vessels originate from DVT in the …