The results of a recent British analysis found that multiple myeloma patients with a deletion in chromosome 17 who received thalidomide induction therapy had improved response rates compared to those who did not receive thalidomide. 

These improved response rates also were accompanied by improve­ments in patients’ overall survival, but the improvements were not statistically significant.

Moreover, patients with a deletion in chromosome 17 who received thalidomide as part of a maintenance regimen had shorter overall survival than those who did not receive thalidomide maintenance.

Based on these findings, the study authors conclude…

I know science is for scientists.  And medicine is for medical professionals.

But to be of benefit in our health care system, science and medicine must reach the end consumer — people.  Regular, average, ordinary, everyday people.   People with feelings who are sometimes struggling to cope with a very real threat to their ability to live a quality life, or to live at all.

For those people, the words of science and medicine matter.  They help describe circumstances and set expectations.

Choosing words carefully can make a difference for people.…

Korean researchers recently found that the percentage of cancerous plasma cells in the bone marrow, measured on day 14 post transplant, may predict disease progression in multiple myeloma patients following high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation.

However, because their study was small and retrospective in nature, the Korean researchers suggested that further studies be conducted to confirm their findings.

The standard treatment for myeloma patients under the age of 65 years currently consists of high-dose chemotherapy, followed by autologous stem cell transplantation. In this type of transplantation, physicians collect a…

Results from a recent clinical study suggest that a new type of response, called an immunophenotypic response, strongly predicts disease progression in elderly multiple myeloma patients. Patients who achieved an immunophenotypic response had superior progression-free survival than patients who achieved a complete response or stringent complete response.

The authors suggested that testing for these three types of responses provides complementary information and that effort should be made to refine response criteria for multiple myeloma.

A number of previous studies have shown that achieving a complete response, which is defined by…

Results of a recent German study show that the chromosomal abnormalities del(17p13) and +1q21 may reduce overall survival in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients receiving Revlimid-dexamethasone compared to patients without these abnormalities.

The results also indicate that patients with t(14;16) receiving Revlimid-dexamethasone have a shorter time to disease progression than patients without this abnormality. In addition, patients with del(13q14) in combination with certain other chromosomal abnormalities may have decreased response rates and a shorter time to disease progression.

The study authors, however, recommended additional evaluation of these chromosomal abnormalities in larger…