Myeloma: update on supportive care strategies

Abstract

Despite substantial innovations in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), it remains an incurable disease. In addition, it is debatable whether the progress in survival is attributable simply to the therapy used to destroy the tumor clone or if it is also because of therapy designed to ameliorate disease complications. Supportive therapy has evolved greatly alongside general supportive measures used in hematologic malignancies (such as new antibiotics, antifungal agents, and growth factors) in addition to better indications in complementary treatments such as radiotherapy, dialysis, and surgery. However, in MM, several specific adjuvant therapies have also been introduced (eg, bisphosphonates and erythroid-stimulating factors), which have conferred a key role to supportive therapy in the general treatment of patients with MM.