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Multiple Myeloma: A Practical Guide to Current Management |
Multiple Myeloma: A Practical Guide to Current Management
CME Monograph for 2.0 category 1 credits
A Roundtable Discussion of the Role of Thalidomide by International Key Opinion Leaders
Jointly sponsored by The American School of Oncology™ and The
University of Alabama, School of Medicine Division of Continuing
Medical Education
Introduction:
Multiple myeloma is the second most common
hematologic malignancy after non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
It is estimated that 15,980 new cases of multiple myeloma
(approximately 8,600 men and 7,380 women) will be
diagnosed during 2005 in the United States, and
approximately 11,300 individuals (5,660 men and 5,640
women) will die of the disease. The 5-year survival rate
for patients with multiple myeloma is 30%, with younger
patients having outcomes superior to those seen in the
elderly. Although no cure exists for the disease, recent
improvements in the treatment of multiple myeloma are
expected to increase survival rates.
The response of multiple myeloma to treatment is
predominantly dependent on underlying genetic variation;
nevertheless, commonly employed staging systems use
more readily accessible clinical tools. Staging for multiple
myeloma is commonly based on two approaches: The
Durie-Salmon Staging (Appendix 1) and the recently
proposed International Staging System (Appendix 2).
Depending on the age of the patient and the disease stage,
several treatment modalities are available for treating
multiple myeloma, including:
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Conventional-dose chemotherapy.
Steroid therapy.
High-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue.
Thalidomide-based regimens.
Newer agents: bortezomib and lenalidomide.
Given the options available, treatment of multiple
myeloma is dependent on individual physician pattern of
practice, which is based on patient characteristics and
clinical trials data for available therapies. These practices
are reflected in these proceedings from a roundtable
meeting entitled Multiple Myeloma: A Practical Guide to
Current Management held on April 9, 2005, in
conjunction with the 10th International Myeloma
Workshop in Sydney, Australia. Keith Stewart, MB.ChB.,
chaired the session and posed questions to experts in the
field of multiple myeloma. The opinions of the experts are
captured in this monograph.
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