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New Approaches to Management of Multiple Myeloma

  • Leukemia (JP Dutcher, Section Editor)
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Current Treatment Options in Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

Multiple myeloma is still an incurable disease with pattern of regression and remission followed by multiple relapses raising from the residual myeloma cells surviving even in the patients who achieve complete clinical response to treatment. New antimyeloma drugs such as thalidomide, lenalidomide, and bortezomib have dramatically changed treatment paradigm leading to both tumor reduction and tumor suppression. Much progress has been made, but still many unsolved questions remain. In the mode of sequencing treatment for patients with multiple myeloma, we are still using old drugs such as the alkylating agent melphalan, which continues to play a central role in the transplantation setting. Newer drugs are now emerging and are being tested: monoclonal antibodies, histone deacetylase (romidespsin), MLN9708 (ixazomib) a new oral proteasome inhibitor, carfilzomib, signal transduction modulator perifosine. Many advances have been made, but there is still a long way to go.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank Giorgio Schirripa for help in the preparation of the paper.

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

Conflict of Interest

Sonja Genadieva-Stavric declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Federica Cavallo is on the advisory board for Celegene; received honoraria from Celgene, Janssen-Cilag, and Onyx. Antonio Palumbo is a consultant to and received honoraria from Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Janssen, Millenium, and Onyx.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Faculty, University Hematology Clinic, Skopje, Skopje, Macedonia

    Sonja Genadieva-Stavric MD

  2. Myeloma Unit, Division of Hematology, University of Torino, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Torino, Italy

    Federica Cavallo MD & Antonio Palumbo MD

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  1. Sonja Genadieva-Stavric MD
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  3. Antonio Palumbo MD
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Correspondence to Antonio Palumbo MD.

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Genadieva-Stavric, S., Cavallo, F. & Palumbo, A. New Approaches to Management of Multiple Myeloma. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 15, 157–170 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-014-0276-6

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