Patients with multiple myeloma are living longer with their disease than ever before thanks to the availability of treatment regimens that have been shown to improve survival compared to recent standards-of-care. Also important, but often overlooked, is the importance of the supportive care therapies that help manage the impact of the disease. As treatment advances, physicians and patients are recognizing the importance of not only treating the underlying disease, but also treating or preventing disease complications.
Notably, one important area that often gets overlooked is how the disease can impact the bones. Multiple myeloma is typically characterized by bone lesions, which are a hallmark of diagnosis. Bone lesions often result in fractures and other serious bone problems, e.g. which are any of the following: broken bones, the need for surgery or radiation to the bone, or spinal cord compression. Until recently, treatment options to prevent serious bone problems in patients with multiple myeloma were limited to bisphosphonates.
