Results of a recent study show that newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients initially treated with a combination of cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dexamethasone have better response rates and less severe side effects than patients treated with Revlimid-dexamethasone or cyclophosphamide-Revlimid-dexamethasone.

The survival outcomes for the patients treated with cyclophosphamide, Velcade, and dexamethasone also are promising.

However, the difference in survival rates between the three treatment regimens is not statistically significant.

This is partly because "the numbers [of patients in the study] were too small to show differences in survival,” explained Dr. Craig Reeder of the …

Treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients with a combination of cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), Velcade (bortezomib), and dexamethasone (Decadron) (abbreviated CyBorD) appears to be effective and safe. The findings were presented June 5 in a poster session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

The study compared CyBorD with Revlimid (lenalidomide)-dexamethasone treatment (abbreviated RD) and cyclophosphamide-Revlimid-dexamethasone treatment (abbreviated CRD). The results of the Phase 2 trials indicate that RD and CyBorD treatment were similar in efficacy and safety. CRD, however, was not as effective and had …