title: Maintenance therapy in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: current recommendations.
abstract: The recent availability of novel agents has substantially improved the outcomes of patients with Multiple Myeloma (MM). Achieving the deepest level of complete response and maintaining a sustained remission are important steps towards MM cure. To achieve this goal, consolidation and maintenance therapies are currently incorporated into the modern therapeutic paradigm. The excellent activity shown by new drugs has led to their investigational use as maintenance therapy. However, despite promising results of continuous treatment with the novel agents, consensus regarding maintenance therapy still lacks. This review will focus on maintenance therapy, offering an overview of the different strategies available in MM. The issue of continuous treatment in the light of new biological discoveries, including intra-clonal heterogeneity, will also be addressed.
authors.affiliation: "Seràgnoli" Institute of Hematology, Bologna University School of Medicine, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brioli
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tacchetti
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zamagni
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavo
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents