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 …

At the XII International Myeloma Workshop (IMW), physicians presented data on new clinical trials for multiple myeloma treatment. Results from separate Phase 1 trials indicate that elotuzumab and panobinostat enhance Velcade's (bortezomib) efficacy in myeloma treatment.

Elotuzumab is an antibody that attaches to a cell surface protein called CS1, which is present in all myeloma cells but not in normal human cells. Dr. Jakubowiak, professor of hematology and oncology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, conducted the Phase 1 trials.

In the study, patients were treated …

Researchers, reporting in the journal Cancer Research, have discovered that adding the drug salubrinal could dramatically improve Velcade’s effectiveness in treating multiple myeloma. Although this study did not involve human subjects, the findings provide a promising foundation for further research.

Velcade (bortezomib), a proteasome inhibitor, is an FDA-approved novel therapeutic agent for treating multiple myeloma. In clinical trials, Velcade in combination with other agents has achieved high treatment response rates as both frontline and relapse therapy.

Despite Velcade’s demonstrated success at achieving response or even remission, even patients who respond well often …

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 …

The National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland is expected to start considering special discounts, cash-back offers, and other cost sharing schemes offered by manufacturers of expensive pharmaceuticals.  These arrangements are likely to benefit patients with diseases such as multiple myeloma and other cancers as well as diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

With the new policy, drug companies may offer to pay for part of an expensive treatment or offer money back for drugs that fail to work. According to Kate Seymour of Macmillon Cancer Support, a British charity, “Risk sharing schemes are …

A num­ber of new drugs are on the horizon for re­lapsed and re­frac­tory patients, as discussed by physicians at the 2009 Inter­na­tional Myeloma Workshop (IMW). The dis­cus­sion covered drugs in all stages of devel­op­ment, from those still undergoing initial lab testing to ones already in inter­na­tional clin­i­cal trials.

Overall re­spon­siveness to treat­ment has im­proved dramatically with the recent in­tro­duc­tion of more potent agents such as Revlimid (lena­lido­mide) and Velcade (bor­tez­o­mib). Doctors are now testing com­bi­na­tions of these two drugs with newer pharma­ceu­ticals. Of the two, Velcade has been …

A recent paper published in Lancet Oncology examines drugs that target biological mechanisms in multiple myeloma. This article is the last of three articles discussing new drugs for myeloma treatment.

Cells have correction mechanisms that prevent deleterious proteins from aggregating. Blocking either of these systems leads to an accumulation of toxins proteins in the cell and results in cell death.

Heat-shock Protein Inhibitors

One system that responds to misfolded proteins is heat-shock proteins (HSP). Among their other functions, these proteins stabilize survival signaling proteins that are overexpressed in multiple myeloma.

By using …