[Progress of research on clarithromycin for treatment of multiple myeloma].

ABSTRACT

Clarithromycin is a 14-membered ring macrolide antibiotics that is widely used in the treatment of infectious disease. Several clinical investigations showed that clarithromycin was highly efficient for multiple myeloma in improving response rate and survival when used in combination with the conventional chemotherapy since 1997. This finding highlights the importance of clarithromycin on the treatment of multiple myeloma. It offers a new regimen for the relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients, and provids a new thought for the treatment of multiple myeloma. However, its related mechanism is still unclear, and more investigations are needed. This review summerizes the recent research progress of clarithromycin for treatment of multiple myeloma and its potential mechanisms.