Multiple Myeloma

Within a selection of therapies showing efficacy over a placebo, lenalidomide-carfilzomib was a standout against the rest of the group.

Researchers highlighted the opportunities primary care providers (PCPs) have to promote favorable outcomes through prompt diagnosis as well as help reduce racial disparities in multiple myeloma.

Regular assessments of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are important to deliver the best clinical care, including the monitoring health-related quality of life (HRQOL), researchers reported.

Being able to use minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity to make treatment decisions, such as stopping maintenance therapy, can have savings related to cost and quality of life (QOL) for patients, said Ajay Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, associate professor, Winship Cancer Institute.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies may help patients with otherwise refractory cases of multiple myeloma, but patients must overcome significant hurdles to access the therapy.

For several years, investigators have examined the potential for allogenic natural killer (NK) cells as an alternative for “off-the-shelf” chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) treatments. New study results presented at the International Myeloma Society (IMS) meeting showed CD38 CAR-NK cells significantly reduced the tumor burden—and improved survival

Everyone agrees that minimal residual disease (MRD) is the best prognostic tool for multiple myeloma, but there is disagreement on how to use the MRD results, said Ajay Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, associate professor, Winship Cancer Institute.

Minimal residual disease (MRD) testing is used to understand the depth of response, but currently the data at Emory are not used to make treatment decisions, said Ajay Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, associate professor, Winship Cancer Institute.

Patients receiving the quadruplet therapy have continued to show improved responses and higher rates of minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity.

This retrospective chart review investigated outcomes among patients who are White or Black on a daratumumab regimen for multiple myeloma (MM).

A tool used to identify primary concerns of patients was helpful in identifying main worries about time, as it related to quality of life (QOL), and held value for patients and clinicians.

Ide-cel is a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed CAR T-cell therapy, which uses the process of genetically modifying a patient’s T cells and infusing them back into the patient to attack the cancer.

In this case report, a 50-year-old female patient, with a family history of lung cancer, received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM) following presentation with an apical lung mass.

Previous studies have produced heterogeneous results on next-generation flow (NGF)-based minimal residual disease (MRD) detection, despite improvements to the method’s reproducibility and sensitivity, prompting the present authors to investigate its clinical utility.

Authors explained how multiple myeloma emerges from earlier clinical phases and the tumor’s microenvironment in the early course of the disease plays a critical role in the survival of myeloma cells.

A study in Blood Advances highlights the toll that a terminal diagnosis can have on everyone around a patient.

Results looking at acceptance of minimal residual disease (MRD) status found that 60% of participants “would change at least one decision based on an MRD result,” and 54% would use both MRD status and disease risk to make decisions.

Results from a registry study of patients from Australia and New Zealand show that 9.1% of patients with a new diagnosis of multiple myeloma die within a year of diagnosis, and infection contributed to early death in 38% of cases in which a cause of death was reported.

Financial difficulty during treatment for multiple myeloma (MM) or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was associated with lower levels of education, incomes below $60,000, and multiple comorbidities.

Real-world patients often differ from those eligible for clinical trials, and comparing results in both populations is a key step in fine-tuning treatment strategies for multiple myeloma.

Whole-exome and RNA sequencing of early and late multiple myeloma tumor samples aimed to provide insight into disease drivers and phenotypes.

Drs Richter and Kaufman conclude by discussing future promising developments in RRMM therapy.

Professional experts offer suggestions on how payers can be further educated on RRMM treatment.

Drs Joshua Richter and Jonathan L. Kaufman consider where IMiDs fall in the RRMM treatment landscape in comparison with emerging treatment options, such as bispecific antibodies and CAR T-cell therapy.

Early results of a multicenter phase 2 trial exploring the efficacy of daratumumab, pomalidomide, dexamethasone, and ixazomib treatment suggest the regimen is safe and effective in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM).

Two practicing physicians discuss clinical pathways and decision-making tactics used at their respective institutions for RRMM management.

Dr Richter explains which patients would benefit the most from using lenalidomide vs pomalidomide, while Dr Kaufman calls attention to clinical trials that support the use of pomalidomide in RRMM therapy.

Patients with multiple myeloma frequently relapse and experience deteriorating quality of life, according to findings from the LocoMMotion study, which also reported that specific patient and disease characteristics are associated with poor efficacy outcomes.

A recent review summarized the current knowledge and treatment paradigm of multiple myeloma, including recent advances and challenges in nanomedicine. 

A literature review revealed that supplementation with vitamin D could provide therapeutic benefits for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who are undergoing chemotherapy. However, more research is needed to confirm findings.