Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026
02:31
Phase Transitions and Effect of Intermolecular Forces
23.3K
Lenalidomide maintenance after stem-cell transplantation for multiple myeloma.
Michel Attal1, Valerie Lauwers-Cances, Gerald Marit
1Department of Hematology, Hôpital Purpan, Toulouse, France. attal.m@chu-toulouse.fr
The New England Journal of Medicine
|May 11, 2012
Summary
Lenalidomide maintenance therapy after stem-cell transplantation significantly improves progression-free survival for multiple myeloma patients. While overall survival was similar, lenalidomide reduced relapse risk and prolonged event-free survival.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Oncology
- Clinical Trials
Background:
- High-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation is a standard multiple myeloma treatment.
- Residual disease post-transplantation often leads to relapse.
- This study evaluated lenalidomide maintenance therapy's efficacy after transplantation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the efficacy of lenalidomide maintenance therapy in multiple myeloma patients post-transplantation.
- To determine the impact on progression-free survival and event-free survival.
Main Methods:
- A phase 3, placebo-controlled trial randomized 614 patients (<65 years) to lenalidomide or placebo maintenance.
- Patients had nonprogressive disease after first-line transplantation.
- The primary endpoint was progression-free survival.
Main Results:
- Lenalidomide significantly improved median progression-free survival (41 vs. 23 months; HR 0.50, P<0.001).
- Benefits were consistent across subgroups; event-free survival also improved (40 vs. 23 months; P<0.001).
- Grade 3/4 neuropathy rates were similar; second primary cancer incidence was higher with lenalidomide (3.1 vs. 1.2 per 100 patient-years; P=0.002).
Conclusions:
- Lenalidomide maintenance therapy significantly prolongs progression-free and event-free survival in multiple myeloma.
- Overall survival remained similar between groups at 4 years.
- Lenalidomide is an effective maintenance strategy post-transplantation for multiple myeloma.
Related Concept Videos
02:31Phase Transitions
23.3K
Whether solid, liquid, or gas, a substance's state depends on the order and arrangement of its particles (atoms, molecules, or ions). Particles in the solid pack closely together, generally in a pattern. The particles vibrate about their fixed positions but do not move or squeeze past their neighbors. In liquids, although the particles are closely spaced, they are randomly arranged. The position of the particles are not fixed—that is, they are free to move past their neighbors to...
23.3K
02:58Properties of Transition Metals
30.0K
Transition metals are defined as those elements that have partially filled d orbitals. As shown in Figure 1, the d-block elements in groups 3–12 are transition elements. The f-block elements, also called inner transition metals (the lanthanides and actinides), also meet this criterion because the d orbital is partially occupied before the f orbitals.
30.0K
01:58Cooperative Allosteric Transitions
8.8K
Cooperative allosteric transitions can occur in multimeric proteins, where each subunit of the protein has its own ligand-binding site. When a ligand binds to any of these subunits, it triggers a conformational change that affects the binding sites in the other subunits; this can change the affinity of the other sites for their respective ligands. The ability of the protein to change the shape of its binding site is attributed to the presence of a mix of flexible and stable segments in the...
8.8K
02:39Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
21.5K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
21.5K
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
20.3K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
20.3K
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
15.2K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
15.2K