 |
Quick Links |
| Information by Disease |
|
|
|
| Cancer News |
|
|
|
| Conference Coverage |
|
|
|
| AZN | $44.82 | -0.37 (-0.82%)
| | NVS | $53.13 | -0.16 (-0.3%)
| | SNY | $37.67 | -0.01 (-0.03%)
| | GSK | $41.53 | 0.06 (0.14%)
|
|
|
|
Multiple Myeloma - Recurrent
|
|
New Proteasome Inhibitor, Carfilzomab, Has Significant Activity in Relapsed Myeloma (10/6/2009)
Researchers affiliated with the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) have reported that carfilzomab monotherapy is highly active in patients with relapsed myeloma and can be administered safely for at least one year in responding patients. The details of this study were presented at the Joint ECCO 15-34th ESMO Multidisciplinary Congress in Berlin, September 20-24, 2009.
Revlimid®-based Regimen with Neulasta® Support Very Effective for Relapsed Myeloma (3/18/2009)
Researchers affiliated with the German Myeloma Study Group have reported that a regimen of Revlimid® (lenalidomide), Adriamycin® (doxorubicin), and dexamethasone supported by Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) resulted in a 74% complete or very good partial remission rate in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. The details of this study appeared in an early online publication in Blood of January 30, 2009.
Revlimid®, Melphalan, Prednisone, and Thalomid® Effective for Relapsed Myeloma (3/3/2009)
Researchers from Italy have reported that the combination of Revlimid® (lenalidomide), melphalan, prednisone, and Thalomid® (thalidomide) results in a 76% response rate in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The details of this study were presented on December 9 at the 2008 meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
New Agents for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma Presented at ASH 2008 (1/23/2009)
At the 2008 meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Francisco in December, there were several oral presentations of new and promising agents for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma.
Velcade® and Perifosine Effective in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma Previously Treated with Velcade (1/22/2009)
Researchers from several U.S. institutions have reported a 40% overall response rate to the combination of perifosine and Velcade® (bortizomib) in patients with multiple myeloma who had been previously treated with Velcade. The details of this study were presented at the 2008 meeting of the American Society of Hematology on December 9 in San Francisco.
Velcade®, Cytoxan® and Prednisone Highly Effective for Relapsed Myeloma (10/15/2008)
Researchers from Canada have reported that the combination of Velcade (bortezomib) plus oral Cytoxan (cyclophosphamide) and prednisone produces complete responses in 50% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The details of this study appeared in the October 10, 2008 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Long-term Effects of Thalomid® for Treatment of Myeloma Reported (7/30/2008)
Three recent publications in Blood have confirmed that Thalomid® (thalidomide) is an important addition to treatment regimens for patients with multiple myeloma.
High-Dose Dexamethasone Increases Mortality Compared to Low-Dose Dexamethasone When Combined with Revlimid® (Lenolidomide) for Multiple Myeloma (1/18/2008)
Researchers affiliated with the Eastern Cooperative Group (Study E4A03) have reported that Revlimid® (lenalidomide) plus high-dose dexamethasone (dex) is associated with a higher death rate than seen following Revlimid and low-dose dex for initial treatment of patients with multiple myeloma. The details of this randomized trial were presented at the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Hematology in December in Atlanta, Georgia.
Revlimid® Plus Dexamethasone Improves Survival in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma (11/26/2007)
Two randomized controlled trials have reported that Revlimid (linalidomide) plus dexamethasone is superior to dexamethasone alone for the treatment of relapsed multiple myeloma. The details of these studies appeared in the November 22, 2007 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Velcade® Indication Expanded to Include Patients with Impaired Kidney Function (10/17/2007)
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has received an expanded indication for their agent Velcade (bortezomib) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to include patients with multiple myeloma who have impaired kidney function, including those who require dialysis.
Double Autografts Improve Progression-Free Survival in Patients with Myeloma (6/26/2007)
Researchers from Italy have reported that newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma have improved responses and relapse-free and event-free survivals following double autologous transplants compared to a single autologous transplant but there was no improvement in overall survival. The details of this study were published in the June 10, 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
FDA Agrees to Review Supplemental New Drug Application for Doxil® Plus Velcade® in Multiple Myeloma (2/6/2007)
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to review a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for the combination of Doxil (pegylated doxorubicin HCl liposome injection) in combination with Velcade (bortezomib) for the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
Doxil®, Oncovin®, Dexamethasone and Revlimid®: Safe and Effective for Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma (11/3/2006)
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic have reported that 29% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma achieve complete or near complete remissions following treatment with Doxil (pegylated doxorubicin), Oncovin (vincristine), dexamethasone and Revlimid (lenalidomide).
Velcade®, Alkeran® and Prednisone Effective for Elderly with Multiple Myeloma (9/25/2006)
A multicenter Spanish study has demonstrated that the addition of Velcade (bortezomib) to standard Alkeran (melphalan) and prednisone (MP) may improve outcomes of newly diagnosed elderly patients with multiple myeloma compared to historical controls receiving MP.
Addition of Revlimid® to Dexamethasone Improves Survival in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma (6/26/2006)
According to a phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial, the addition of Revlimid (lenalidomide) to dexamethasone improves responses, time to progression and survival when compared to dexamethasone alone in the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
U.S. Study Fails to Confirm Benefits of Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation for Myeloma (3/14/2006)
Researchers affiliated with three North American cooperative groups (SWOG, ECOG, CALGB) have reported that patients randomly allocated to receive an autologous stem cell transplant following a total body irradiation- (TBI) based regimen had similar outcomes to patients receiving a chemotherapy regimen without stem cell support.
Thalomid® Not Associated with Survival Improvement in Multiple Myeloma (3/13/2006)
Researchers from the University of Arkansas have reported that the addition of thalidomide to autologous stem cell transplantation does not improve survival for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.
Updated Results: Velcade® Improves Survival Over Dexamethasone in Recurrent Multiple Myeloma (2/8/2006)
Researchers affiliated with the Assessment of Proteosome Inhibition for Extending Remissions (APEX) randomized trial of Velcade (bortezomib) versus dexamethasone have reported that Velcade improves survival by approximately 6 months in recurrent multiple myeloma.
Low Dose of Thalomid® as Effective as Higher Dose in Relapsed Myeloma (1/4/2006)
Researchers from France have reported that 100 mg/ per day of Thalomid (thalidomide) is as effective as 400 mg per day in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
Revlimid® Plus Dexamethasone for Relapsed Multiple Myeloma Promising (12/21/2005)
Researchers affiliated with the MM-010 phase III study of Revlimid (lenalidomide) plus dexamethasone versus dexamethasone alone have reported promising results for this new agent.
Alkeran®/Prednisone Remains Standard Therapy for Elderly Patients with Multiple Myeloma (10/4/2005)
Researchers affiliated with the Intergroupe Francophone du Myelome (IFM) have concluded that a regimen of Alkeran® (melphalan) and prednisone is preferred to dexamethasone-based regimens for patients with multiple myeloma 65 years of age or older.
Genasense® Therapy Promising for Relapsed Myeloma (6/27/2005)
Researchers from the University of Maryland and the National Cancer Institute have reported that a regimen of Genasense (oblimersen sodium, G3139), dexamethasone and thalidomide has significant activity in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma.
Velcade® Superior to High-Dose Dexamethasone for Relapsed Myeloma (6/20/2005)
A multicenter randomized trial carried out in 93 centers in the United States, Europe, Canada and Israel and has shown that relapsed patients with multiple myeloma treated with Velcade (bortezomib) have better outcomes than those treated with high-dose dexamethasone.
Revlimid® Delays Time to Cancer Progression in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma (5/27/2005)
Results from two large phase III randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trials indicate that the addition of Revlimid (lenalidomide) to high-dose dexamethasone (HDD) significantly delays time to cancer progression in patients with previously treated multiple myeloma.
Velcade® Overcomes Poor Prognosis of del(13) In Multiple Myeloma (5/18/2005)
According to results recently presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), treatment with Velcade (bortezomib) may overcome the poor prognosis associated with del(13), or deletion of chromosome 13 in multiple myeloma.
Post-Transplant Thalidomide and Pamidronate of Benefit in Myeloma (5/11/2005)
Researchers from France have reported that thalidomide prolongs progression-free survival (PFS) following tandem autologous stem cell transplants for patients with multiple myeloma. The same study also demonstrated that post-transplant pamidronate decreases skeletal events.
Revlimid™ Promising for Treatment of Multiple Myeloma (5/4/2005)
Celgene has announced that the results of two clinical trials of Revlimid™ (lenalidomide) for treatment of multiple myeloma will be presented at the 10th International Workshop on Multiple Myeloma in Sydney, Australia April 10-15, 2005. According to interim results, Revlimid ™ provides impressive activity in patients with multiple myeloma who have stopped responding to standard therapies.
FDA Approves Velcade® for Second Line Treatment of Myeloma (3/30/2005)
On March 25, 2005 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of Velcade® (bortezomib) for second-line therapy for patients with multiple myeloma. Velcade® was initially approved in May of 2003 for patients with myeloma who had failed two or more prior treatment regimens.
Thalidomide is Effective Maintenance after Double Autografts for Multiple Myeloma (12/15/2004)
Researchers from France presented data that suggests that thalidomide (Thalomid®) is an effective post-transplant maintenance agent for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The results of this randomized trial were presented at the 2004 meeting of the American Society of Hematology in San Diego December 4-7.
Prophylactic Low Molecular Weight Heparin May Decrease Thalidomide-Induced Deep Vein Thrombosis (8/31/2004)
Randomized Trial Confirms that Neupogen® is More Effective than Leukine® for Mobilization of Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (5/20/2004)
Researchers from the University of Minnesota have reported the results of a randomized trial confirming that chemotherapy plus Neupogen® results in the collection of more stem cells than chemotherapy plus Leukine®. The details of this randomized trial appeared in the June 2004 issue of
Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation.
Autologous Transplants Should be Considered Early in the Course of Renal Failure in Patients with Multiple Myeloma (4/29/2004)
Researchers from the University of Arkansas have reported that a third of patients with multiple myeloma who are dialysis dependent for less than 6 months recovered renal function following autologous stem cell transplantation. The results of this study were published in the April 2004 issue of
Bone Marrow Transplantation.
IL-12 after Autologous Stem Cell Transplant Enhances Immune Recovery (4/27/2004)
Researchers from the University of Indiana reported enhanced immune reactivity in patients with lymphoid malignancies treated with autologous stem cell transplants followed by interleukin-12 (IL-12).
1 The details of this report appeared in the March 2004 issue of
Clinical Cancer Research.
Microarray Technique Identifies Molecular Basis For Osteolytic Lesions in Multiple Myeloma (12/30/2003)
Researchers from the University of Arkansas have identified an inhibitior of osteoblast differentiation which, when overexpressed in myeloma cells, is associated with osteolytic lesions. The details of this report appeared in the December 25, 2003 issue of the
New England Journal of Medicine.
1
Doxil®, Thalidomide, and Dexamethasone Improve CR Rate of Patients with Multiple Myeloma (12/16/2003)
Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic Myeloma Program reported that treatment of newly diagnosed and relapsed myeloma patients with Doxil®, Oncovin®, dexamethasone, and thalidomide (DVd-T) resulted in high response rates. The results of this phase II trial in over 100 patients was reported at the 45th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in December 2003.
Two Randomized Trials Fail to Show Improved Survival of Myeloma with Autologous Transplants (12/15/2003)
At the 45th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology there were two randomized trials that failed to confirm benefit of up-front high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell support compared to continued standard dose-chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. These results were presented in an oral session on Autologous Transplantation for Multiple Myeloma.
Sequential Auto-Allografts Promising for Patients with Myeloma Failing Initial Therapy (11/7/2003)
Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, City of Hope National Medical Center, Stanford University, University of Colorado, the University of Leipzig, and University of Torino have reported that sequential autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants produces complete remissions in 56% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The results of this cooperative trial were published in the November 2003 issue of
Blood.
Bone Seeking Isotope is a Promising Component of High-Dose Therapy with Autologous Stem Cell Support for Multiple Myeloma (9/23/2003)
Researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported promising results of treating multiple myeloma with a high-dose regimen that includes Holmium 166 rather than total body irradiation. The results of this study appeared in the October 2003 issue of
Blood.
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants for Myeloma Improved with Use of Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (5/15/2003)
Researchers from Italy have reported an apparent reduction in treatment-related mortality and improved survival in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplants from HLA identical siblings following a myeloablative treatment regimen. These results were published in the May 1, 2003 issue of
Bone Marrow Transplantation.
FDA Announces Approval of Velcade" for Relapsed Multiple Myeloma Treatment (5/15/2003)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday that Velcade® (bortezomib) was approved for patients with multiple myeloma who had failed two prior treatment regimens. (1) Velcade™ is the first in a new class of anticancer agents known as proteasome inhibitors. Velcade™ was approved under the FDA’s accelerated approval program.
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants For Multiple Myeloma (5/9/2003)
German researchers reported 2-year survivals of 25% following allogeneic transplansion for patients with multiple myeloma who have failed conventional treatment. In a subset of patients transplanted in chemosensitive relapse, the survival was over 60%. These results appeared in the May 2003 issue of the
British Journal of Haematology.
Dexamethasone and Thalidomide Provide Effective Induction Therapy for Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (1/2/2003)
Induction therapy with Oncovin®, doxorubicin and dexamethasone (VAD), autologous stem cell harvest and high-dose chemotherapy followed by stem cell rescue is the current optimal treatment for many patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. Although not curative, this strategy offers the longest reported progression-free survival and treatment related mortality is less than 5%. Previously, a regimen of Alkeran® and prednisone was considered standard treatment for patients with myeloma, but this regimen damages stem cells and makes harvesting difficult, if not impossible. Furthermore, high-dose Alkeran® is the most commonly used transplant regimen and can be given in one or two courses making initial treatment with Alkeran® less attractive. High-dose Alkeran® can be given as tandem up-front treatment or the second course can be reserved for disease progression. Both approaches appear to be better than conventional treatment without stem cell support in patients able to tolerate high-dose procedures. Although effective, the administration of VAD requires an indwelling right atrial catheter and infusional chemotherapy.
Velcade™ Promising for Multiple Myeloma (12/15/2002)
Velcade™ is a novel anticancer drug that is being evaluating in clinical trials for the treatment of patients with refractory hematologic malignancies, especially multiple myeloma. As a single agent, Velcade™ has a response rate of approximately 30% with 4-5% of these responses being complete. This is a remarkable finding since the complete remission rate by stringent criteria to first-line treatment with VAD (vincristine (Oncovin®), doxorubicin and dexamethasone) for multiple myeloma is less than 10%. For this reason, Velcade™ has been granted fast-track status by the US Food and Drug Administration for treating multiple myeloma. Velcade™ has also been evaluated in combination with thalidomide for the treatment of refractory multiple myeloma with no additive toxicities and encouraging results. Now researchers at the University of North Carolina have evaluated Velcade™ in combination with
Doxil® for the treatment of patients with refractory multiple myeloma. Interest in this combination is due to the fact that Velcade™ may block a pathway that prevents doxorubicin from killing myeloma cells. The investigators of this treatment combination presented their findings at the 2002 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
Velcade™ (Bortezomib), A New Proteasome Inhibitor, Effective For Refractory Multiple Myeloma (12/15/2002)
At the 2002 meeting of the American Society of Hematology there were many presentations dealing with multiple myeloma. Over the past decade, palliative treatments for patients with multiple myeloma have improved significantly with the use of high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell support and the development of thalidomide and its derivatives as effective drugs for salvage therapy. At this meeting, data on proteasome inhibitors, a new class of drugs in the treatment of multiple myeloma, was reported. The new drug that has received the most attention is Velcade™ which represents a novel potential pathway for targeted anticancer therapy. Velcade™ is a potent and selective proteasome inhibitor.
Double Autograft Improves Survival of Patients with Multiple Myeloma (12/11/2002)
Over the past decade, high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell support has become standard treatment for patients with multiple myeloma under the age of 65 years. Phase II studies have strongly suggested that two courses of high-dose chemotherapy increases the complete response rate from approximately 25% to 50% with an improvement in survival. Most studies have used two up-front, high-dose treatments while other studies have reserved the second high-dose treatment for disease progression with similar overall survivals. The only randomized trial comparing a single to double autograft was performed by a French consortium of 36 medical centers. The researchers involved in this trial randomly allocated 339 patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma to receive a single transplant with Alkeran® and total body irradiation (TBI) or the same treatment preceded by a course of high-dose Alkeran® with stem cell support.
The Vaccine, Canvaxin, Prolongs Survival of Patients with Resected Metastatic Melanoma (12/5/2002)
Over the past two decades, there have been many attempts to treat melanoma with vaccines. The primary reason for these efforts is the belief than immune mechanisms control the spread of melanoma. For example, melanoma is one of the few cancers with a small but significant incidence of spontaneous remissions. Furthermore, a significant fraction of patients with metastatic melanoma are cured by surgery suggesting that residual cancer cells are eradicated by the body’s immune system. In most vaccine trials to date, improved outcomes have occurred entirely or predominantly in those patients who demonstrate a cellular or antibody response to the vaccine. Most vaccines have utilized killed autologous or allogeneic melanoma cells as immunogens. This has complicated vaccine trials as it is difficult to prepare large batches of consistent vaccine from this approach.
New Derivative of Thalidomide, CC-5013, Shows Promise for Treatment of Myeloma (10/22/2002)
With the exception of allogeneic stem cell transplant, there are no proven curative treatments for patients with multiple myeloma. However, allogeneic stem cell transplants are limited to young individuals with suitable donors and this therapy is associated with a high treatment-related mortality. Allogeneic stem cell transplants using non-myeloablative regimens show promise but there are no long-term data to determine the ultimate utility of this approach. High-dose Alkeran® with or without autologous stem cell support probably offers the best prolongation of progression-free survival, but all patients appear to ultimately progress. Thalidomide has significant activity in patients refractory to other therapies, but has demonstrated significant side effects. These side effects include somnolence, constipation and neuropathy. Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have performed a phase I clinical trial of CC-5013, a derivative of thalidomide, in patients with refractory multiple myeloma. The results of this study were published in the November 2002 issue of
Blood.
Non-Myeloablative Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants Effective in Patients Who Fail Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (10/2/2002)
High-dose chemotherapy supported by autologous stem cell transplantation is the treatment of choice for selected patients with Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma. However, the majority of patients treated with autologous stem cell transplants will ultimately relapse and treatment options are few. Myeloablative regimens followed by allogeneic stem cell transplants are associated with a high treatment-related mortality due to regimen-related toxicities and graft-versus-host disease. The recent development of non-myeloablative treatment regimens followed by allogeneic stem cell transplants has been associated with less early treatment-related mortality. Researchers in England have reported that this approach is successful in half the patients who have failed a previous autologous stem cell transplant. They reported their results in the October 2002 issue of the
Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The Addition of Alfa Interferon and Interleukin-2 Adds to the Palliative Effects of Chemotherapy in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma (5/7/2002)
According to results published in the
Journal of Clinical Oncology, a recent randomized trial conducted by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center suggests that the addition of cytokines to chemotherapy improves times to cancer progression, but does not improve the cure rate for patients with advanced melanoma.
Maintenance Therapy with Alternate Day Prednisone Improves Survival of Responding Patients with Multiple Myeloma (5/1/2002)
According to results recently published in
Blood, alternate-day prednisone is effective maintenance treatment for multiple myeloma patients who achieve a response to induction chemotherapy with VAD.
Autologous Stem Cell Transplants Following High-Dose Alkeran® Alone is Superior to High-Dose Alkeran® Plus Total Body Irradiation (3/19/2002)
The outcome of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who receive high-dose therapy (HDT) followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation is superior to that of patients receiving conventional chemotherapy. Randomized trials documenting the superiority of autologous transplants have been primarily conducted by the Intergroupe Francophone du Myélome (IFM). Their first trial prospectively compared conventional chemotherapy with HDT and autologous stem cell transplants and showed that patients treated with autologous stem cell transplants had significantly improved response rates, event-free survival and overall survival. That trial used a conditioning regimen of 8 Gy total body irradiation (TBI) plus 140 mg/m2 intravenous Alkeran®. The complete response rate after HDT was 22%, and the probability of EFS at 5 years after the diagnosis was 28%. No plateau of the survival curves was observed. However, the presence of a response to HDT was related to survival, and the 5-year probability of survival after diagnosis was 72% among patients who had complete or very good partial responses.
|
|
Patient Home
