title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, University Hospital of Salamanca, Paso de San Vicente 52-182, 37007 Salamanca, Spain. sanmigiz@usal.es
authors.forename: Jesús F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: San Miguel
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García-Sanz
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D010166:Palliative Care; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000077190:Interferon alpha-2; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins