Phase II Study of Bortezomib (PS-341) and Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin as Initial Therapy for Adult Patients With Symptomatic Multiple Myeloma

Study start date: June 15, 2004

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have a histologically confirmed diagnosis of symptomatic multiple myeloma with evaluable disease parameters * A diagnosis of symptomatic multiple myeloma requires: * A monoclonal serum and/or urine protein * Clonal bone marrow plasmacytosis, or a histologically confirmed plasmacytoma * Related organ or tissue impairment, consisting of: * Hypercalcemia (serum calcium \> 0.25 mmol/l above the upper limit of normal, or \> 2.75 mmol/l \[i.e. \> 11.5 mg/dl\]) AND/OR * Renal insufficiency (serum creatinine \> 173 mmol/l \[i.e., \> 2 mg/dL\]); (please note that serum creatinine may not be \>= 2.5 mg/dL) AND/OR * Anemia (hemoglobin 2 g/dl below the lower limit of normal, or hemoglobin \< 10 g/dl) AND/OR * Bony lesions (lytic bony lesions, or osteoporosis with compression fractures) AND/OR * Other findings, such as symptomatic hyperviscosity, amyloidosis, or recurring bacterial infections (\> 2 episodes in 12 months) * Patients may not have undergone any prior therapy, with the following exceptions: * Prior plasmapheresis with plasma exchange (PLEX) for a hyperviscosity syndrome is allowed, providing the patient has no current evidence of hyperviscosity and has not required PLEX for at least one week prior to initiation of therapy * Prior radiation therapy to areas of spinal cord compression by plasmacytomas, painful lesions due to bony involvement, or other myeloma-related indications, is allowed provided that radiation will have been completed 3 weeks before initiation of therapy * Prior surgical intervention, such as for bony fractures or other myeloma-related complications, is allowed provided that this will have been completed 3 weeks before the initiation of therapy, and patients have recovered from surgery * Prior therapy with corticosteroids for indications other than multiple myeloma is allowed, provided such therapy has been discontinued at least two weeks prior to study entry, and at least two weeks before their baseline disease evaluation * Prior supportive therapy with bisphosphonates or erythropoietin is allowed * Inclusion of females of childbearing potential requires a negative pregnancy test * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 2 * Patients may not have a prior history of a hypersensitivity reaction to pegylated liposomal doxorubicin or doxorubicin, bortezomib or other boronic acid-based compounds * Patients with a history of reactions to liposomal drug formulations other than pegylated liposomal doxorubicin will be evaluated individually, and if their reactions were felt to have been due to the liposomal component itself, as opposed to the encapsulated agent, they will be excluded at the discretion of the investigators * Patients who are known to be human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive and are taking anti-retrovirals may not participate in this study; patients who are HIV-seropositive and not on anti-retroviral therapy, and who otherwise meet the organ function criteria, will be eligible for the study * Patients who are known to have active hepatitis A, B, or C viral infection may not participate in this study * No electrocardiogram (EKG) evidence of acute ischemia * No EKG evidence of medically significant conduction system abnormalities * No history of myocardial infarction within the last 6 months * Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) must be \>= 45% by either echocardiography or radionuclide-based multiple gated acquisition (radionuclide ventriculography \[RNV\] or multiple gate acquisition scan \[MUGA\]) * No class 3 or class 4 New York Heart Association congestive heart failure * Creatinine \< 2.5 mg/dL * Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase \[SGPT\]) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[SGOT\]) =\< 2.5 times the upper limit of the institutional normal value * Total bilirubin =\< 1.2 times the upper limit of the institutional normal value * Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) \>= 1,000/ul * Platelets \>= 100,000/ul * Hemoglobin \>= 8 g/dl (transfusion- and/or growth factor-dependent patients are not excluded if the above parameters can be achieved with such support) * For those patients receiving warfarin (Coumadin), unfractionated heparin, or low-molecular weight heparin therapy, the applicable coagulation parameter that is being monitored must be within the accepted therapeutic ranges for those indications