Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Haematological cancer

Treatment of smoldering multiple myeloma

In a recent randomized trial, lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone prolonged overall survival in patients with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma. Although the results are impressive, the generalizability is limited to a small subset of patients. Additional studies are needed to identify specific patient populations who can benefit from early intervention.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Kyle, R. A. et al. Clinical course and prognosis of smoldering (asymptomatic) multiple myeloma. N. Engl. J. Med. 356, 2582–2590 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kyle, R. A. & Rajkumar, S. V. Criteria for diagnosis, staging, risk stratification and response assessment of multiple myeloma. Leukemia 23, 3–9 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Mateos, M.-V. et al. Lenalidomide plus dexamethasone for high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma. N. Engl. J. Med. 369, 438–447 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Rajkumar, S. V. et al. Impact of primary molecular cytogenetic abnormalities and risk of progression in smoldering multiple myeloma. Leukemia 27, 1738–1744 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bladé, J., Dimopoulos, M., Rosiñol, L., Rajkumar, S. V. & Kyle, R. A. Smoldering (asymptomatic) multiple myeloma: current diagnostic criteria, new predictors of outcome, and follow-up recommendations. J. Clin. Oncol. 28, 690–697 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Rajkumar, S. V., Larson, D. & Kyle, R. A. Diagnosis of smoldering multiple myeloma. N. Engl. J. Med. 365, 474–475 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Larsen, J. T. et al. Serum free light chain ratio as a biomarker for high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma. Leukemia 27, 941–946 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Kastritis, E. et al. Extensive bone marrow infiltration and abnormal free light chain ratio identifies patients with asymptomatic myeloma at high risk for progression to symptomatic disease. Leukemia 27, 947–953 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Rajkumar, S. V., Merlini, G. & San Miguel, J. F. Redefining myeloma. Nat. Rev. Clin. Oncol. 9, 494–496 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Hillengass, J. et al. Prognostic significance of focal lesions in whole-body magnetic resonance imaging in patients with asymptomatic multiple myeloma. J. Clin. Oncol. 28, 1606–1610 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert A. Kyle.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rajkumar, S., Kyle, R. Treatment of smoldering multiple myeloma. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 10, 554–555 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2013.160

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2013.160

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing