Myeloma Australia’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Group (MSAG) presents the article of the week. Lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (RVd) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) is standard frontline therapy for transplant-eligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). This study evaluated addition of daratumumab (D) to RVd in ASCTeligible NDMM patients. Patients (N=207) were randomized...Continue Reading

Myeloma Australia’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Group (MSAG) presents the article of the week. Multiple myeloma (MM) is the third most common hematologic malignancy worldwide, characterized by excessive proliferation of monoclonal plasma cells. The development of novel anti-MM agents has expanded treatment options for MM patients and improved out-comes. Despite recent treatment advances, MM remains incurable, with...Continue Reading

Myeloma Australia’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Group (MSAG) presents the article of the week. The article from Australia’s National Centre for Infections in Cancer (NCIC, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre) includes MSAG members Prof Jeff Szer and A/Prof Peter Mollee as co-authors.  Along with this guide for health care professionals please find attached the guide for patients, produced by...Continue Reading

There is an increasing clinical interest in the measure and achievement of minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity in the bone marrow of Multiple Myeloma (MM) patients, as defined equally either by Multicolor Flow Cytometry (MFC) or by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies. At present, modern technologies allow to detect up to one on 104 or...Continue Reading

Renal impairment (RI) is a poor prognostic factor in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Despite improvements in survival with the introduction of novel therapies in recent years, RI remains one of the most common complications with an incidence of 20% to 50% at diagnosis, and approximately 5% to 10% of MM patients are dialysis-dependent.1-3 The...Continue Reading

Bortezomib in combination with cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (CyBorD, is a well-established frontline chemotherapy regimen for patients with multiple myeloma, but prospective data on elderly non-transplant eligible patients is limited. A total of 155 patients aged 70 years or older with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who received at least one cycle of CyBorD chemotherapy in three...Continue Reading

Phase 3 study of subcutaneous bortezomib, thalidomide, and prednisolone consolidation after subcutaneous bortezomib-based induction and autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma: the VCAT study Development of novel therapeutic agents such as proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), and the combination of these agents with existing therapies, has significantly improved response...Continue Reading

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare demyelinating disease of the central nervous system caused by reactivation of John Cunningham (JC) virus. Risk factors for the development of PML include infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or treatment with immunosuppressive therapy. This latter group, termed drug-associated PML, has been linked to rituximab, fludarabine, and brentuximab;...Continue Reading

The treatment landscape for multiple myeloma has dramatically changed over the past decade with the introduction of several new classes of drugs, which are very effective at controlling the disease for prolonged periods of time, especially when used in multidrug combinations. Prior to the advent of these new agents, peripheral blood autologous stem cell transplantation...Continue Reading

To date, the choice of therapy for an individual multiple myeloma patient has been based on clinical factors such as age and comorbidities. The widespread evolution, validation, and clinical utilization of molecular technologies, such as fluorescence in situ hybridization and next-generation sequencing has enabled the identification of a number of prognostic and predictive biomarkers for...Continue Reading