Bortezomib battles the front line in multiple myeloma

Bortezomib [VELCADE] is effective in the first-line treatment of multiple myeloma, both as monotherapy and in combination with other agents, according to studies presented at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) [San Diego, California, US; December 2004]. Preliminary results from several ongoing studies showed that treatment-naive patients receiving a bortezomib-containing regimen had overall response rates of > 70%, and complete or near complete responses were observed in ≥ 17% of patients. Similar response rates were observed in patients receiving bortezomib as monotherapy in other studies presented at the meeting.