A recent study has linked a chemical called 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) to an increased chance of developing multiple myeloma.

MBT has a variety of uses, but it is most commonly used to speed up the process of rubber production. It is considered a high volume chemical in the United States, as over one million pounds of it are produced in the country each year. Previous research had cited this chemical as a possible carcinogen.

This particular study, conducted by the University of Birmingham, examined death rates and cancer diagnoses in former…

Palonosetron, a second-generation 5-HT3-receptor antagonist, is at least as effective as Kytril (granisetron), a first-generation 5-HT3-receptor antagonist, in preventing nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy up to one day after treatment.  One to five days after treatment, palonosetron remains effective in a significantly larger percentage of patients than does Kytril.

Many chemotherapy patients are subject to vomit-inducing anticancer treatment, which typically contains the drugs cisplatin or anthracycline/cyclophosphamide.  The standard preventative treatment, Kytril, works in just over 50% of patients when administered with dexamethasone prior to chemotherapy.  However, the…

Numerous treatment options are available to multiple myeloma patients, with the therapeutic objective of inducing complete remission (CR) or at least very good partial remission (VGPR).

In the American Society of Hematology’s recent Education Program Book, “Hematology,” researcher Jean-Luc Harousseau compares treatment regimens with and without a stem cell transplant component. In addition, he examines the mounting belief that complete remission, a potentially unreliable prognostic indicator, should cease to be the therapeutic goal in all situations.

Comparison: Treatment With and Without Stem Cell Transplant

During initial…

For more than four decades, the standard of care in elderly multiple myeloma patients over age 65 has been a combination of melphalan (a chemotherapy drug) and prednisone (a steroid). Yet, this regimen, known as MP, only achieves a five percent complete remission rate.

The advent of novel therapeutic agents has greatly improved treatment outcomes.

Multiple researchers have tested an MP plus thalidomide (Thalomid) regimen, or MPT, and the majority of these studies have found that MPT yields superior complete remission (CR), very good partial remission (VGPR), and progression-free…

Update: The results published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute article have been called into question in a letter to the Editor. Based on results of the meta-analysis, researchers concluded that single and tandem stem cell transplantations produced comparable overall survival and event-free survival rates. The meta-analysis included a study published by the Abdelkefi research group that demonstrated a “dramatic benefit” of single transplantation over tandem. However, this study has been retracted because it contains “biologically implausible findings.” As a result, the summary results and conclusions published…