News Details

NCCN Updates Multiple Myeloma Guidelines

JENKINTOWN, Pa., January 8, 2007 — The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is pleased to announce several new updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ for Multiple Myeloma. These changes highlight leading developments in the treatment of multiple myeloma and represent the recognized standard for clinical policy in oncology in both the community and the academic practice settings.

Assessing the response to treatment is a key determinant of myeloma treatment. The guidelines list two different sets of response criteria, one developed by the European Group for Bone and Marrow Transplant and the other developed by the International Myeloma Working Group. Both tables are new to the guideline.

Use of the International Staging System (ISS) is also new to the guidelines. Based on the results of the clinical and laboratory evaluation, patients are initially classified as either having smoldering (asymptomatic) disease or active (symptomatic) disease. Those with active disease are then further categorized according to stage, based on either the Durie Salmon staging system or the International Staging System (ISS).

Diagnostic tests such as free light chain, MRI and PET/CT scan have been added to the follow-up/surveillance recommendations throughout the guidelines.

Several new induction regiments for potential transplant candidates are listed in the guidelines. Additional options for non-transplant candidates containing alkylating agents are also listed. Research into various induction regimens has focused on improving the complete response rates in both transplant and non-transplant candidates.

NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™ are developed and updated through a consensus-driven process with explicit review of the scientific evidence by multidisciplinary panels of expert physicians from NCCN member institutions. The most recent version of this and all the guidelines are available free of charge at www.nccn.org.