Velcade and del(13)

According to results recently presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), treatment with Velcade (bortezomib) may overcome the poor prognosis associated with del(13), or deletion of chromosome 13 in multiple myeloma.

By conventional cytogenetics, del(13) is considered a poor prognostic indicator for survival in multiple myeloma. However, it was discovered through the SUMMIT trial in which Velcade was utilized as treatment in multiple myeloma that del(13) was not associated with differences in survival or response rates. Thus, researchers were led to believe that Velcade may play a role in negating the detrimental effects associated with del(13) in multiple myeloma, and further evaluation of this possible correlation was necessary to confirm findings.