Intensive chemotherapy with combinations containing anthracyclines for refractory and relapsing multiple myeloma. Finnish Leukaemia Group.

94 patients with refractory multiple myeloma were treated in a multicentre trial with combinations of cytotoxic drugs including anthracyclines. All were refractory to a 5-drug combination containing 3 alkylating agents, vincristine and methylprednisolone (MOCCA). With a combination of epirubicin and iphosphamide a 50% response was achieved in 9% of 22 patients.

Effect of the Choice of Primary Chemotherapy on the Cumulative Length of Stay in Hospital for Multiple Myeloma.

The actual use of hospital beds for patients with multiple myeloma was calculated from a randomised trial of primary treatment with either melphalan and prednisone (MP, 66 patients) or intensive combination chemotherapy with vincristine, cyclophosphamide, lomustine, melphalan and methylprednisolone (MOCCA, 64 patients). The survival of the patients was similar in both arms, and the samples, 20 and 32 patients, respectively, were well representative for the whole arms. The average numbers of hospital days were similar fur both arms.

Treatment of multiple myeloma in old patients. Finnish Leukaemia Group.

Patients aged 70 yr or older with multiple myeloma were treated, when suitable, according to concurrent trial protocols for younger patients, with the exception that the cytostatic regimen was not allocated at random. Intermittent melphalan and prednisone (MP) was given as the primary treatment to 42 patients and 5-drug combination MOCCA to 68 patients. The groups were comparable with each other, and the distribution of the clinical stages of the patients was similar to the younger patients in concurrent trials.

Treatment of multiple myeloma with an intensive 5-drug combination or intermittent melphalan and prednisone; a randomised multicentre trial. Finnish Leukaemia Group.

In a randomised multicentre trial a combination of methylprednisolone, vincristine, CCNU, cyclophosphamide and melphalan (MOCCA) was compared with intermittent melphalan and prednisone (MP) as primary treatment in multiple myeloma. In the MP arm the refractory or relapsed patients were treated with regimen MOCCA. The MOCCA arm produced a response rate of 75% among 64 patients and the MP arm a response rate of 54% among 66 patients.

The Finnish leukaemia group: levamisole in maintenance therapy of acute myeloid leukemia in adults.

The Finnish Leukaemia Group has carried out a randomized, multicenter trial to study the effect of levamisole on the remission maintained with 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate in acute myeloid leukaemia in adults. Levamisole was given on 3 consecutive days every 2 weeks. Twenty-five patients received only chemotherapy, while 26 patients received levamisole as well.

Atrial myxoma in a family.

A family is described in which the mother and three of seven children had atrial myxoma. The mother had biatrial myxoma; surgical treatment resulted in massive intraoperative embolization and death. Surgery was sucessful in two sons with left atrial myxoma and systemic arterial embolization.