A high level of resilience—or a person’s ability to adapt to adversity—was associated with a better mental and physical health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among patients with multiple myeloma and its precursor diseases, according to the results of a study published in BMJ Open. Early stages of multiple myeloma are usually asymptomatic, but survivors of myeloma often deal...Continue Reading
Survival outcomes in “real world” practice may differ among nontransplant patients with multiple myeloma who receive routine care compared with clinical trials, according to a study published in the Annals of Hematology. Although the treatment of multiple myeloma has advanced in recent years, new treatment modalities have largely been evaluated in prospective clinical studies with strict inclusion criteria...Continue Reading
New investigational therapies in the pipeline that address multiple myelomainclude both small-molecule and immunotherapeutic approaches — and in some cases, a combination of the two. Drugs that increase the visibility of tumors to the immune system, used in combination with additional medications that bolster the immune system, will be the future focus in the management of...Continue Reading
When patients with multiple myeloma become refractory to lenalidomide (Revlimid) or bortezomib (Velcade), or have penta-refractory disease, there have been limited options left for treatment, according to Suman Kambhampati, MD. Recent studies presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting indicate that meaningful changes may be on the horizon. Notably, the anti-BCMA CAR T-cell therapy bb2121...Continue Reading
Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, also known as CAR T-cell therapy, is approved for two indications — relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia — and is currently being investigated for more cancer types. CAR T-cell therapy comprises T cells collected from a patient that are then engineered to recognize an...Continue Reading
INVITATION Patient Seminar: From 45 South – The Otago Myeloma Research Trust Presented by Dr Ian Morrison on 1 August, 5.30 at BNZ Partners Centre, Level 10, Ricoh House, 1 Victoria St RSVP by Friday 27 July to contact@multiplemyeloma.org.nz Continue Reading
Alexander M. Lesokhin, MD, assistant attending, Department of Medicine and Myeloma Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses some of the exciting advancements currently happening in the field of multiple myeloma. According to Lesokhin, a lot of the excitement is around chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells, though they are not FDA approved yet. Data has...Continue Reading
Stand Up To Cancer awarded a $10 million grant to a research “dream team” that will strive to revolutionize the treatment of multiple myeloma through early detection of precursor conditions. “We tell people with precursor conditions that we will ‘watch and wait’ until it turns into multiple myeloma, with multiple tumors that can potentially cause...Continue Reading
Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second most common hematologic malignancy and represents approximately 10% of all hematological neoplasms. Standard therapy consists of induction therapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) or, if ASCT cannot be performed, standard doublet, triplet, or quadruplet, novel agent–containing induction treatment until progression. Although MM is still...Continue Reading
Greetings as the days get shorter. Thanks to all the people who turned out for our last Wellington seminar on February 21. Dr Rob Weinkove delivered a masterly talk on Car –T cell therapy which was very topical as clinical trials are likely to begin in Wellington by end of this year. The initial patients...Continue Reading
