Stem Cell Transplant with Melphalan Still Preferred in Myeloma

September 5, 2014

(Medscape) – Stem cell transplantation with melphalan is still the preferred treatment for younger patients with multiple myeloma, even in the era of new therapies for the disease, according to a phase 3 trial. The results were published in the September 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The past decade has seen tremendous advances in the treatment of myeloma, centered around 2 classes of drugs — proteasome inhibitors like bortezomib and carfilzomib, and immunomodulatory drugs like thalidomide and lenalidomide, explained Jacalyn Rosenblatt, MD, hematologist and assistant professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.