Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Newly diagnosed symptomatic multiple myeloma based on the following criteria:

- Durie-Salmon staging

- Measurable disease, defined as a monoclonal immunoglobulin spike on serum
electrophoresis of ≥ 1 g/dL and/or urine monoclonal immunoglobulin spike of ≥
200 mg/24 hours

- Symptomatic disease

- No POEMS syndrome (plasma cell dyscrasia with polyneuropathy, organomegaly,
endocrinopathy, monoclonal protein [M-protein], and skin changes)

- No plasma cell leukemia

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

- Karnofsky performance status 60-100%

- Life expectancy > 3 months

- Platelet count ≥ 50,000/mm³ (30,000/mm³ if the bone marrow is extensively
infiltrated)

- Hemoglobin ≥ 8.0 g/dL

- Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1,000/mm³

- Creatinine ≤ 3 mg/dL

- Sodium > 130 mmol/L corrected

- AST and ALT ≤ 3 times upper limit of normal (ULN)

- Bilirubin ≤ 2 times ULN unless clearly related to the disease

- Not pregnant or nursing

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

- Any ECG abnormality has to be documented by the investigator as not medically
relevant

- No electrocardiographic evidence of acute ischemia or new conduction system
abnormalities

- No myocardial infarction or EKG evidence of infarction within the past 6 months

- No active infection

- No severe hypercalcemia (i.e., serum calcium ≥ 14 mg/dL [3.5 mmol/L])

- No New York Heart Association class III or IV heart failure

- No uncontrolled angina

- No severe uncontrolled ventricular arrhythmias

- No active conduction system abnormalities

- No poorly controlled hypertension

- No diabetes mellitus

- No known HIV infection

- No known active hepatitis B or C viral infection

- No history of grand mal seizures

- No history of allergic reaction to compounds of similar chemical or biological
composition to melphalan, bortezomib, boron, or mannitol

- No peripheral neuropathy ≥ grade 2 within the past 14 days

- No other serious medical or psychiatric illness that could potentially interfere with
the completion of study treatment

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

- More than 4 weeks since prior immunotherapy, antibody therapy, or radiotherapy

- More than 4 weeks since prior major surgery

- No prior therapy for myeloma

- Prior prednisone at a total of 400mg over ≤ 4 days (or an equivalent potency of
another steroid) allowed

- No concurrent corticosteroids (≥ 10 mg prednisone/day or equivalent)

- No other concurrent investigational agents

- No other concurrent antimyeloma therapy