The Danish biotechnology company, Genmab, have announced that the Phase III trial, ALCYONE, has achieved its primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival in newly diagnosed myeloma patients. This study compared daratumumab (Darzalex®) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade®), melphalan and prednisone (VMP) to VMP alone. Treatment including daratumumab was demonstrated to reduce the risk of disease…
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has approved the use of carfilzomib (Kyprolis®) in combination with dexamethasone for myeloma patients who have received at least one previous treatment. The approval is based on results from the ENDEAVOR trial which showed that progression-free survival was significantly improved in patients treated with carfilzomib in combination with dexamethasone compared…
Meta-analysis of results from three randomised control trials has demonstrated that maintenance treatment with lenalidomide (Revlimid®) following high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDT-ASCT) in newly diagnosed myeloma patients has a significant overall survival (OS) benefit. Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the results of this meta-analysis, which used data pooled from the…
A study, published recently in Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukemia, has further validated the use of the SKY92 gene expression signature as a potentially valuable prognostic tool to evaluate myeloma patients. Compared with seven other gene expression profiling classifiers including UAMS 70, UAMS 80 and IFM15, the researchers found that SKY92 identified the largest proportion (21%)…
Myeloma UK together with expert haematologists and radiologists have jointly published new British Society of Haematology (BSH) guidelines for the use of imaging in the diagnosis and management of myeloma patients. This comes following the recent recommendations made by The International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) and The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)…
A consensus statement identifying the best use of plerixafor to facilitate autologous peripheral stem cell collection to support high-dose therapy and stem cell transplantation in myeloma or lymphoma patients has been published recently in the Journal of Clinical Apheresis. Written by the Plerixafor Usage Working Party Group involving representative clinicians from the UK and Republic…
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a final appraisal determination (FAD) recommending the use of carfilzomib (Kyprolis®) in combination with dexamethasone for myeloma patients at first relapse who have not previously received bortezomib (Velcade®). Carfilzomib will immediately be available to eligible patients in England via interim funding arrangements through the…
The International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) has published a consensus statement providing practical recommendations for managing myeloma patients who develop second primary malignanices (SPMs). Published in the Annals of Oncology, the group reviewed the latest evidence of possible host-, disease- and treatment-related risk factors for the development of SPMs in myeloma patients. They recommend that…
A study examining the number of visits people made to their GP before being diagnosed with cancer through accident and emergency (A&E) has shown that myeloma patients presenting via this route have the highest number of prior GP visits than any other cancer. Published recently in the British Journal Of General Practice, researchers from the Universities of…
The International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) has published a consensus statement providing recommendations for the best use of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT in the diagnosis and management of myeloma patients. Published in the Lancet Oncology, they consider this technique to be valuable not only in the initial work up for newly diagnosed myeloma patients but also…