The 10-year follow-up results of a Phase 2 trial suggest that thalidomide increases the median time to disease progression in smoldering multiple myeloma patients who respond to treatment.

However, researchers also observed an increased rate of side effects compared to earlier results. They therefore do not recommend the use of thalidomide in smoldering myeloma patients.

Approximately 10 to 15 percent of all myeloma patients have smoldering myeloma, a slow-growing form of the disease that often appears without symptoms. Approximately 73 percent of patients with smoldering myeloma develop active myeloma within…

A combination of cyclophosphamide, low-dose thalidomide, and dexamethasone is effective and well tolerated in multiple myeloma patients, according to a recent Polish study. Response rates were favorable for both newly diagnosed and relapsed or treatment-resistant multiple myeloma patients.

 “Low-dose thalidomide was well tolerated, and serious side effects described with high or even intermediate doses were diminished,” said Dr. Anna Dmoszynska, the lead author of the study, in an email to the Beacon.

In recent years, thalidomide (Thalomid) has proven to be an effective therapy for multiple myeloma when given…

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, an organization that decides which treatments will be made available under the state-funded National Health Service in the United Kingdom, recommended thalidomide as a first line of treatment for multiple myeloma patients in a draft guidance published August 26. Velcade was also recommended as a first line of treatment, but only for patients unable to tolerate thalidomide.

This draft guidance follows a previous draft published by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on June 2, which recommended both

A recent study showed that relapsed and therapy-resistant multiple myeloma patients with an abnormality on chromosome 1, called 1q21 gain, did not respond as well to single-agent Velcade treatment in comparison to patients who lack this chromosomal abnormality.

The study found that the median duration of response, progression-free survival, and overall survival were significantly lower among patients with the 1q21 gain abnormality.

Chromosomal abnormalities are the result of unbalanced changes to the structure of a chromosome, which may occur through deletions, insertions, duplications, or movement of chromosomal regions. They are…

A recent study showed that initial treatment of multiple myeloma with a combination of cyclophosphamide and thalidomide negatively impacts a patient’s ability to collect stem cells for transplant.

Physicians were able to collect almost 50 percent fewer stem cells from patients treated with cyclophosphamide and thalidomide (Thalomid) compared to patients treated with other commonly used myeloma treatments. This combination therapy may prevent stem cells from moving from the bone marrow into the circulating blood, where they are harvested for stem cell transplantation.

Treatment of multiple myeloma typically begins…