A New International Staging
System for Multiple Myeloma

By S. Vincent Rajkumar, M.D.

Is the Durie-Salmon staging for myeloma on its way out? At yesterday’s Simultaneous Session, Experimental Therapy in Multiple Myeloma, a new International Staging System (ISS) for multiple myeloma was presented by Dr. Philip Greipp. The Durie-Salmon staging system, which is the most widely used staging system for patients with multiple myeloma since 1975, has some drawbacks, including complexity and problems with accurate classification of patients. The new international staging system was a collaborative effort by investigators from 17 institutions worldwide and involved data from 11,171 patients.

The ISS has the advantage of being simple to use and has been validated in both transplant and non-transplant patients. It is hoped that the ISS will allow the accurate assessment of prognosis of patients with myeloma.