Timing of the high-dose therapy in the area of new drugs.

The treatment approach in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) has been essentially changed with introduction of novel agents such as thalidomide, bortezomib and lenalidomide. In patients eligible for autologous stem cell transplant, combinations of novel agents with chemotherapy have been recognized as induction regimens. New induction regimens have significantly increased the rate of complete remission before and after autologous stem cell transplant with positive impact on the length of progression-free survival followed by the possibility for further improvement with the application of consolidation or use of thalidomide and lenalidomide as maintenance therapy. These results offer new perspectives in the treatment of MM with a reasonable hope of cure.