News

In a video posted on Healio’s Hematology-Oncology page, Dr. Ola Landgren, chief of the myeloma service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, speaks about new treatments and ongoing discoveries in the field of multiple myeloma. A lot is taking place, quickly, according to Landgren. “I…

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…

Many patients with blood cancers, such as myeloma, go into remission after receiving a stem-cell transplant. However, there are still many patients (about one-third) who relapse, a condition usually associated with a poor prognosis. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers tested the effects of a new treatment approach using repeated doses of the immunotherapy drug Yervoy (ipilimumab), showing…

A study has uncovered that elevated body mass index (BMI), a measurement of obesity, increases an individual’s risk of developing multiple myeloma and the disease’s risk of progression. The study, “Adipocytes contribute to the growth and progression of multiple myeloma: Unraveling obesity related differences in adipocyte signaling,” was recently published…

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have found that blocking a specific mechanism in the benign condition monoclonal gammophaty of undetermined significance (MGUS) may prevent the development of multiple myeloma. The findings were published in the journal Leukemia in the study “Citrullination of histone H3…

In the largest study to date, researchers from The Institute of Cancer Research in London identified eight new gene mutations increasing the risk of developing myeloma — a risk that is still very small, according to experts. The study, “Genome-wide association study identifies multiple susceptibility loci for…

Global biotech firm Amgen has announced that the European Commission (EC) approved a variation to the marketing authorization for Kyprolis (carfilzomib) to be used in combination with dexamethasone alone for adults suffering from multiple myeloma who have been treated at least once. This extended indication is the second EC approval for…

Advances in the molecular understanding of multiple myeloma (MM) onset and disease development have enabled the production of effective drugs, such as bortezomib,thalidomide, and lenalidomide, that increase the length of progression-free survival and prolong overall survival. While the drugs have dramatically improved the day-to-day quality of life of patients with MM,…