Dr. Galligan on Transplant Eligibility and Subsequent Treatments in Multiple Myeloma

Derek C. Galligan, MD, a medical oncologist at the Center for Health & Healing Building, Oregon Health & Science University, discusses transplant eligibility in determining subsequent treatment for patients with multiple myeloma.

For most patients, standard therapy consists of a triplet regimen of lenalidomide (Revlimid), bortezomib (Velcade), and dexamethasone (RVd), which is a bit agnostic in terms of whether or not a patient is going to receive a transplant, says Galligan. Regardless of future treatments, RVd is often the regimen to start with, Galligan adds.

Even so, understanding if the patient is a candidate for transplant early on in the course of their disease is important, as it can impact the number of cycles of therapy they will receive, Galligan explains. For example, as patients receive more lenalidomide, it becomes harder to collect stem cells. This decision should be made early on, although it is not critical to determine whether patients will undergo transplant when they first begin treatment, concludes Galligan.