The use of single-agent Velcade as maintenance therapy does not significantly improve the response of multiple myeloma patients who fail to achieve a complete response following stem cell transplantation with their own cells, according to a recent study published in the journal Investigational New Drugs.

The researchers recommended that Velcade be used in combination with other myeloma treatments as maintenance therapy. “Velcade is indeed effective in the post-transplant setting, but it must be given as part of a combination therapy to realize the effects/benefits,” said Dr. Robert Rifkin from the Rocky Mountain …

The International Myeloma Working Group, comprised of many of the world’s top myeloma experts, recently published a report that evaluated the use of key proteins to assess the severity of multiple myeloma-related bone disease. The group determined that some of these proteins are useful in monitoring bone metabolism and skeletal complications during myeloma treatments.

The majority of multiple myeloma patients suffer from bone disease. Approximately 20 percent of patients experience a fracture at the time of their myeloma diagnosis, and 60 percent of patients experience a fracture as their myeloma progresses. These …

The results of a recent Phase 2 clinical trial indicate that the new drug Istodax, administered alone, is unlikely to achieve a significant response rate in therapy-resistant multiple myeloma patients. However, the results indicate that that Istodax may help stabilize M-protein production, resolve high calcium levels, or reduce bone pain in some multiple myeloma patients.

Istodax (romidepsin) is a cyclic peptide that inhibits an enzyme in cancer cells known as histone deacetylase (HDAC). By inhibiting HDAC, Istodax disrupts the cell cycle and causes cancer cell death. Istodax is marketed by Celgene Corporation …

A small study in Japan showed that relapsed multiple myeloma patients treated simultaneously with Velcade and itraconazole experienced greater Velcade-induced side effects, such as lower platelet levels and nerve damage to the extremities, than patients who did not receive itraconazole. 

The researchers recommended that multiple myeloma patients receiving both Velcade (bortezomib) and itraconazole (Sporanox) be closely monitored for Velcade-induced side effects throughout the duration of their treatment. 

However, according to Dr. Paul Richardson of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston the results of the study should be interpreted cautiously. “Patients from …

A recent study conducted in China demonstrated that the addition of Velcade to initial thalidomide-dexamethasone treatment confers a low risk of blood clot complications to newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

The researchers suggested that medication for the prevention of blood clots is not needed in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients receiving the combination treatment. However this recommendation was limited to Chinese patients only because the study was conducted in a population of Chinese patients.  

The findings cannot be conclusively applied to other ethnicities because the rate of complications resulting from blood …

A follow-up analysis of recent trial results suggests that reducing Velcade administration from twice weekly to once weekly when given in combination with melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide reduces side effects in elderly multiple myeloma patients.  The less frequent administration did not affect the efficacy of the treatment.

The researchers had reported earlier this summer that the addition of thalidomide (Thalomid) to Velcade (bortezomib), melphalan (Alkeran), and prednisone (referred to as VMPT), followed by long-term treatment with Velcade and thalidomide (VT), improved response rates and progression-free survival in elderly …

The results of a recent Phase 2 trial indicate that Velcade-doxorubicin-dexamethasone treatment can reverse multiple myeloma-associated kidney damage in myeloma patients suffering from kidney failure. The regimen also improved patients’ disease statuses and was associated with few severe side effects.

Multiple myeloma affects plasma cells, a subset of white blood cells that fight infections by producing antibody. In multiple myeloma patients, cancerous plasma cells produce one kind of abnormal antibody.

In some myeloma patients, this abnormal antibody binds to a protein produced in the kidney.  These antibody-protein complexes then accumulate in the …