|
Consolidation is a type of treatment which is administered in a
higher dose or more intense fashion over a few days or weeks to achieve further
reduction in myeloma tumour burden. This is used within clinical trials. This
is not a “standard of care” approach to myeloma therapy.
Maintenance is a type of treatment which is administered over a
long period of time, typically years, in an effort to sustain or enhance
response which has already been achieved with prior therapy. The therapy can
be the same or different than prior therapy. However, lower dosages are used
and adjusted to achieve and sustain long term efficacy and tolerance.
Clinical trials have shown benefits with several types of
maintenance including older forms such as with steroids (prednisone or dexamethasone)
and α-interferon as well as more recent therapies such as Thalidomide,
Revlimid®, and Velcade®. Currently, many questions remain, including ideal
candidates, drug or combinations to use, ideal duration of therapy and risk
factors for short term and/or longer term side effects, toxicities or
complications. ASH 2011 presentations that address STEP 7 REFERENCES ©2011 International Myeloma Foundation
|
related articles
print