Klin Onkol 2002; 15(Suppl 2002): 38-41.
Summary: Autologous transplantation may be considered as first-line treatment for a well-defined subgroup of multiple myeloma (MM) patients younger than 65 years. It decreases the tumor burden and significantly prolongs survival, but, unfortunately, has no curative potential. The era of novel biologically-based therapies for MM began in the late ’90s with the finding that bone marrow microenvironment plays a key role in promoting growth, survival, drug resistance, and migration of myeloma cells. Novel therapies in myeloma interfere with these processes in a variety of ways. They inhibit myeloma growth and induce cell death. Newer therapies, such as immune-based therapies, antiangiogenic drugs, immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), selective cytokine inhibitory drugs (SelCIDs) could further improve long-term therapeutic results in multiple myeloma, probably when administered in combination with current therapies.
