Those of us who have had an autologous stem cell transplant most likely had a regimen using melphalan as the myelo-ablating agent. For those who are scheduled for auto-SCT: you may be interested in a short, but very interesting paper that was just published in The Lancet Haematology. This paper reports on a trial that[...]

It is safe to speculate that the average myeloma patient is attuned to the high cost of their treatment. We have seen results of recent studies, as well as some FDA approvals, of triplet and quadruplet therapies where the annual cost of treatment adds up to amounts in the $500,000 to +$750,000 per year range.[...]

The PROMISE Study team is sporting a booth at the Red Sox games in Boston throughout April to raise awareness for multiple myeloma research! What is the PROMISE Study? The PROMISE study is the biggest myeloma screening study ever run to help prevent the blood cancer from occurring by catching it at an early stage.[...]

Every myeloma patient has immunoglobulin tests run to watch their kappa, lambda and kappa/lambda ratio numbers. It’s one of the most important labs to watch if you are a myeloma patient. Immunoglobulins are antibodies that fight infection. In myeloma, one of these antibodies grows out of control. The Y shaped antibodies have both a heavy[...]

While many CAR T treatments are being developed for a target called B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), relapse still occurs in many patients. As the BCMA trials move up to earlier stages of disease, outcomes may be improve but newer targets are being explored. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center researchers are working to develop a CAR[...]

March 20, 2019 The Today Show featured Jenny and Paul Ahlstrom as they described a new patient platform they created called HealthTree. The mission of HealthTree is to help doctors, researchers and patients better collaborate around each patient’s treatment options, with the hope that connecting the patient data will accelerate a cure for myeloma.  A[...]

AbbVie announced that the FDA has placed a partial clinical hold on all clinical trials using venetoclax in multiple myeloma. The hold was placed based on data from the Phase 3 BELLINI trial (a study for relapsed/refractory myeloma) in which a higher proportion of deaths were observed in the venetoclax arm compared to the control[...]

  You have cancer.  No one ever expects to hear those words.  Other people get cancer, not you.  Multiple Myeloma?  What in the world is that?  Most individuals diagnosed with myeloma have never heard of it before they were diagnosed.  But once diagnosed, they are immediately  flooded with information, questions, and options for treatment.  They[...]

Healthtree- Connecting Cancer Patients for Better Health, FM100.3 November 10, 2018 https://fm100.com/category/podcast_player/?a=33486&sid=2052&n=Utah+Weekly+Forum+with+Rebecca+Cressman When people are diagnosed with cancer, their search for information, research and treatment options can be overwhelming. Yet, access to the most recent and relevant data can be lifesaving and life preserving. In this episode of Utah Weekly Forum, Myeloma patient, Jenny Ahlstrom, joins[...]

A new HDAC inhibitor called CS3003 is now in a Phase I study in China for multiple myeloma patients. It is considered to be a HDAC6 inhibitor which is different from the pan-HDAC inhibitors approved in the US for myeloma like panobinostat.  Dr. Jon Wang, Chief Scientific Officer of CStone said:  “The selective inhibition of[...]