The answer has always been "2-3 years, on average". In the last 3
years there has been an explosion of newer drugs (Thalidomide,
Velcade, Revlimid, Zometa, etc). Most papers of the topic are still
going from 1998-2001 data. What has been the impact of the newer
drugs? Since we can't see into the future, a solid educated guess
would be good. |
Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
09 Oct 2005 08:10 PDT
I took a quick look at some of the most recetn PubMed articles. I did
not see anything solid regarding survivability statistics, although
there's an indication that novel therapies can make a significant
difference in the time-without-symptoms, an important quality of life
consideration:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16010209&query_hl=1
It also seems that the ability of doctors to fine-tune their prognosis
for individual patients, based on molecular markers and the like, is
improving:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16026738&query_hl=1
Hope these are of some use. I'm pretty tied up for the next few days,
but perhaps another researcher can add to these links, and provide a
full answer to your question.
All the best,
pafalafa-ga
|
Clarification of Question by
nebbristol-ga
on
09 Oct 2005 14:34 PDT
The core of my question is what has happened to the survival curve
with the advent of the new drugs. Do they make a difference? The
typical survival curve slopes downward and at 5 years, only 3% of
patients are alive. That was with old therapy models. I too use
PubMed and can't find an answer or even a comment on what the curve
will do with thalidomide, revlimid, zometa or velcade. Researchers
are excited about the new medications (and some new therapy involving
monoclonal antibodies and even the measles virus and vaccines), but no
one will comment on what that will LIKELY mean to the survival curve.
Hope this added info helps.
|
Request for Question Clarification by
welte-ga
on
09 Oct 2005 19:47 PDT
The prognosis would depend on many factors, some of which are outlined here:
http://www.multiplemyeloma.org/about_myeloma/2.07.html
Also, if you'd like to read the article that Pafalafa-ga cited, you
can find it here:
http://hematology.im.wustl.edu/education/hemerefs/Lancet_Oncol_4_293.pdf
-welte-ga
|
