On February 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposal to cover chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for cancer patients who are participating in clinical trials that study treatment effectiveness. This proposal would require CMS to cover nationwide CAR T-cell therapies “when the treatment is offered in CMS-approved registries or[...]

Gilead released fourth quarter results that removed an anti-BCMA cell therapy for multiple myeloma from it’s pipeline, part of its $12 billion acquisition of Kite Pharma. The decision to drop the KITE-585-CAR T programs indicates the ever growing competition in the BCMA-targeted therapy for myeloma and represents a loss of $820M in investment.  Other anti-BCMA[...]

A new Center for Blood Cancers will be the domain for a world-class program for multiple myeloma care and research, thanks to a $75 million anonymous donation made in support of Perlmutter Cancer Center’s campaign to enhance its state-of-the art research and clinical space. The center will provide more patient services, increase and foster research efforts,[...]

As seen on Freethink, by Kaitlin Ugolik. When Jenny Ahlstrom, a mother of six, was diagnosed with terminal blood cancer in 2010, it felt like déjà vu. Just five years before, she had watched her brother-in-law David succumb to a similar disease at age 33. Jenny’s husband Paul, who was present for both diagnoses, said[...]

A new monoclonal antibody targeting CD38 has been working its way through clinical trials. In the Phase 3 trial, Isatuximab was found to prolong progression free survival when combined with pomalidomide and dexamethasone compared to pomalidomide and dexamethasone alone.   The study, known as ICARIA-MM, enrolled 307 patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma. All participants had received[...]

Because smoldering myeloma isn’t quite active myeloma, a question remains of which treatment approach is best for a smoldering patient. In a recent interview with Patient Power, Dr. Carol Ann Huff, Dr. Suzanne Lentzsch, Dr. Sagar Lonial and Jennifer Ahlstrom of the Myeloma Crowd addressed this topic. Treating patients earlier before they develop organ damage,[...]

The first minimal residual disease (MRD) test in multiple myeloma and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has received coverage approval for Medicare patients. The MRD test called ClonoSEQ, from Adaptive Biotechnologies can detect lower levels of multiple myeloma than traditional tests. MRD is a measurement of the remaining number of cancer cells that are present in a[...]

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to encourage the immune system to eat cancer cells. Immune system cells called macrophages are large white blood cells that locate and ‘eat” invader particles such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. According to the researchers, cancer has found ways to put these macrophages to[...]

There  are 828 abstracts listed for multiple myeloma for ASH 2018.  If you want to know which abstracts are most important, why not ask some of the most talented myeloma specialists in the world?  And that is just what we did.  Dr. Shaji Kumar was kind enough to list his top 5 in their order[...]

As long as I have a member of the myeloma patient community there has always been discussion of the role of transplant as well as the number of transplants.  Two prior studies had shown exactly opposite conclusions. Both study had differing designs, however both had elements of Velcade/Revlimid/Dex (VRD) induction, and as have previously found[...]