Inês Martins, PhD, managing science editor —

The association between excess body fat and increased risk of various cancers is an undisputed fact. Now, the findings of a working group from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) adds eight additional types to the list of cancers whose risks are increased by being overweight, showing that the…

Janssen Biotech has submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand Darzalex (daratumumab) to include patients with multiple myeloma. The application seeks approval for Darzalex use in combination with Revlimid (lenalidomid) and Decadron (dexametasone), or Velcade (bortezomib) and Decadron, in…

Patients with heavily treated multiple myeloma have promising response rates when treated with a combination of selinexor (KPT-330) and low-dose dexamethasone, according to the results of a Phase 2b clinical trial. Selinexor, a first-in-class oral selective inhibitor of nuclear export, is currently being developed for a variety of advanced hematologic…

With advances in treatment for multiple myeloma, some studies have reported improved survival rates, especially among young white patients and, to a lesser extent, in patients of other ethnicities. But in a recent study, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham show that these differences are not due to race…

Empliciti (elotuzumab), a monoclonal antibody, is approved in both the U.S. and Europe as a treatment, in combination with Revlimid (lenalidomide) and Decatron (dexamethasone), for multiple myeloma patients who have received at least one prior treatment. But the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health and Care (IQWiG) announced  that an early benefit assessment was unable to…

Elotuzumab in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone prolongs the progression free survival of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), according to the study “Randomized phase 2 study of elotuzumab plus bortezomib/dexamethasone (Bd) versus Bd for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma,” recently published in Blood. Current choices…

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) and the University of Michigan have partnered to provide multiple myeloma patients and their doctors access to personal genomic information which can help guide treatments based on genomic alterations. Over the course of the two-year Molecular Profiling Initiative (MPI), the two institutions aim…

A three-drug combination that includes thalidomide, in place of cyclophosphamide, prior to an autologous stem cell transplant was seen to improve response rates in multiple myeloma patients, according to  the conclusions of a randomized, open-label Phase 3 trial, titled “VTD is superior to VCD prior to intensive therapy in multiple…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has designated Darzalex (daratumumab), in combination with standard-of-care regimens, a breakthrough therapy for people with previously treated multiple myeloma (MM), speeding its clinical development and regulatory review for these patients. The FDA designation is reserved for treatments showing early evidence in clinical studies of substantial improvement over…

A randomized Phase 3 clincal trial has concluded that combining bortezomib (Velcade) with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) does not show benefit in treating relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) patients, compared to bortezomib alone. The data was published in Cancer under the title “Final overall survival results…