Developments in the Field of Myeloma in the Last Decade

Abstract

The plasma cell disorders constitute a heterogeneous group of diseases. Accumulation of knowledge in the field has helped us to understand these diseases better, stage them more precisely, prognosticate more accurately and manage them more effectively. The paradigm shift in the management of multiple myeloma over the last oneand-a-half decades shows no signs of slackening. In addition to novel therapies, better supportive care and highdose melphalan with autologous hematopoietic stem cells have contributed to this positive outcome. This review summarizes the developments in this sphere in the recent past.

Treatment of Multiple Myeloma and the Role of Melphalan in the Era of Modern Therapies—Current Research and Clinical Approaches

“…Plasma cell disorders are a wide group of diseases [ 5 ]. MM accounts for 1% of all malignancies, and 10% of all hematological cancers, and it is the second most common hematologic tumor after non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Introductory Chapter: Multiple Myeloma in the Era of Novel Therapeutics

“…Hopefully, the following will optimize antimyeloma management in the near future: (1) better understanding of the biology of the disease, (2) characterization of genetic and molecular basis of the disease, (3) incorporation of risk stratification in the management of newly diagnosed MM patients, (4) availability of several novel agents as well as monoclonal antibodies and effective management of their adverse effects, (5) availability of safer autologous HSCT, (6) improvement of supportive care and management of comorbid medical conditions, and (7) designing new novel therapies to restore autologous antimyeloma immunity and to target protein degradation as well as aberrant biology [4,65,[76][77][78]. Finally, it is essential to reduce the costs of the novel therapies so that patients with low income can afford them and make benefit from utilizing them particularly in the setting of RR-MM [13,[79][80][81].…”