Multiple Myeloma News and Research

Latest Multiple Myeloma News and Research

Patients with myelodysplastic syndromes treated with Revlimid are living longer and remaining transfusion independent

New updated results from a pivotal Phase II trial evaluating Revlimid in patients with an incurable blood cancer known as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) were presented by Dr. Alan List, from the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, at the 9th International Symposium on MDS currently taking place in Florence, Italy.

18 May 2007

Multiple myeloma dexamethasone / lenalidomide trial closes

The Southwest Oncology Group, the largest of several National Cancer Institute-sponsored clinical trials networks, has permanently closed enrollment in a trial comparing a standard drug therapy, dexamethasone, with a combined therapy of the same drug plus the drug lenalidomide (Revlimid) for people newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

16 May 2007

Novel targeted therapy effectively treats acute leukemia

Researchers from the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have found that a novel targeted therapy effectively treats acute leukemia in animal models by preventing cancer cells from being purged of damaged proteins.

20 Apr 2007

Avalon Pharmaceuticals announces results of AVN944 biomarker study

Avalon Pharmaceuticals has announced the results of an AVN944 biomarker study that utilized Avalon's proprietary AvalonRx technology to identify gene signatures that may be useful for patient stratification.

18 Apr 2007

Anti-anemia drug darbepoetin alfa no better than placebo for cancer patients

Results from a phase III drug trial indicate that an anti-anemia drug did not significantly decrease the need for blood transfusions in patients not on chemotherapy, and decreased overall patient survival when compared to placebo, according to researchers from the UCLA Medical Center at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

17 Apr 2007

Chaetocin shows promise as a new anti-myeloma agent

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center researchers have found that chaetocin, a by-product of a common wood mold, has promise as a new anti-myeloma agent. Results of their study, being presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, show the by-product to be more effective than currently used therapies at killing multiple myeloma cells.

16 Apr 2007

Lower doses of dexamethasone for multiple myeloma recommended

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) - supporting research and providing education, advocacy and support for myeloma patients, families, researchers and physicians - today said physicians should consider lowering the dose of the steroid dexamethasone when treating patients with multiple myeloma.

5 Apr 2007

Multiple myeloma trial has shows significant improvement in survival

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center has announced that a multiple myeloma clinical trial has shown a significant improvement in survival with lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone therapy compared to lenalidomide plus high-dose dexamethasone.

5 Apr 2007

Recognition for cancer researchers

World-class cancer researchers whose science has significantly contributed to progress in the fight against cancer will be recognized April 14-18, 2007, by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) at its 2007 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, Calif.

3 Apr 2007

Immunity to cancer stem cells may help protect people with a precancerous condition from developing the full-blown disease

Although stem cells hold incredible promise in the fight against certain diseases, in cancer they're anything but helpful. In fact, mounting evidence is showing that a tumor's growth and spread may depend on "cancer stem cells," which comprise only a very small subset of the tumor.

2 Apr 2007

Immune response to cancer stem cells may dictate cancer's course

Although stem cells hold incredible promise in the fight against certain diseases, in cancer they're anything but helpful. In fact, mounting evidence is showing that a tumor's growth and spread may depend on 'cancer stem cells,' which comprise only a very small subset of the tumor.

27 Mar 2007

Two novel therapies for multiple myeloma

Two novel biologics are currently being investigated for their potential benefit to multiple myeloma patients in separate ongoing clinical trials at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

14 Mar 2007

Mayo Clinic tests engineered measles virus against multiple myeloma

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center has opened a new Phase I clinical trial testing an engineered measles virus against multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow that currently has no cure. This is the third of a series of molecular medicine studies in patients testing the potential of measles to kill cancer.

5 Mar 2007

Researchers wake up viruses inside tumors to image and then destroy cancers

They say this strategy could offer a novel way of treating many cancers associated with Epstein-Barr, including at least four different types of lymphoma and nasopharyngeal and gastric cancers.

1 Mar 2007

Chemotherapy drug bortezomib packs a one-two punch

Cancer can be wily, and those who treat the disease have amassed a wide array of weapons with which to fight it and kill tumors.

20 Feb 2007

Rate of stem cell transplants among African-Americans lower

Lower transplant rates in ethnic communities may be explained somewhat by a lack of suitable anonymous donors, a problem the medical community has long known and been working to address. Surprisingly, the study found the discrepancy in treatment held true even when the transplant was autologous (e.g. self-donated stem cells were used) or when the cells were donated by a relative, typically a sibling.

11 Feb 2007

Turning the immune system against cancer

Medicine can now prevent a host of diseases with a mere shot of vaccine. Polio and smallpox are almost non-existent, and mumps and chicken pox are rarely seen nowadays.

4 Aug 2006

Roswell Park research aids development of myeloma drug

Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) researchers played a leading role in clinical studies which led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a new treatment for patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma - the second most common blood cancer.

11 Jul 2006

Scientists identify overactive protein that plays a key role in cystic fibrosis

A team led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center scientists has identified and successfully tamed an overactive protein that plays a key role in cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disorder that interferes with the body's ability to transport chloride in and out of cells.

5 Jul 2006

Bortezomib extends lung cancer survival

Adding the new molecularly targeted agent bortezomib to a standard chemotherapy regimen of gemcitabine and carboplatin prolongs survival in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, according to results from a phase II trial.

9 Jun 2006