Frontline Therapy for Patients with Multiple Myeloma not Eligible for Stem Cell Transplantation.

Considerable progress has been recently made in the treatment of elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM). In Europe the combination of thalidomide with melphalan and prednisone and of bortezomib with melphalan and prednisone are 2 standards of care for frontline therapy for elderly patients. In United States the combination of lenalidomide and dexamethasone is the preferred option in this setting. This article focuses on more recent therapeutic approaches in older MM patients, not eligible for high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplantation.