2010 Supplements

Hematologists/oncologists and other physicians can expect to encounter an increasing number of patients with multiple myeloma in the coming years. Between 1997 and 2006, the incidence rate of myeloma declined in the United States, but the burden (the number of incident cases) increased.

Although prognostic factors in the context of relapsed and refractory disease require further characterization, high-risk patients include those with certain cytogenetic abnormalities, high β2-microglobulin, and low serum albumin.

No survival advantage of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been documented for patients older than 65 years, and in the era of thalidomide (Thalomid), bortezomib (Velcade), and len­alidomide (Revlimid), ASCT has a diminished role in the front-line treatment of older patients with myeloma.

High-dose melphalan (Alkeran) and autologous stem cell transplantation are commonly incorporated into the initial line of therapy for patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

Colon cancer is estimated to have accounted for 106,100 new cancer cases and 49,920 cancer-related deaths in 2009. Over half of these new diagnoses and deaths occur in individuals age 70 and older.

The age-adjusted cancer death rates related to colorectal cancer have steadily declined over the past 2 decades. This improvement is a direct consequence of advances in prevention and treatment, including colorectal cancer screening, diagnostic tests, surgical technique, adjuvant therapies, and medical support.

Possibly the most difficult and confusing subject in colon cancer today is the decision-making involved in the treatment of stage II colon cancer. The pendulum has been swinging back and forth over the past several decades as to whether stage II colon cancer patients should receive postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy or not.

Two decades since the first demonstration that fluorouracil (5-FU)-based adjuvant chemotherapy improves outcomes in resected colon cancer, clinicians are still struggling with the question of which patients with stage II colon cancer should receive postoperative therapy.
• New Developments in the Adjuvant Therapy of Stage II Colon Cancer
• Risk Assessment in Stage II Colorectal Cancer
• How to Evaluate Risk and Identify Stage II Patients