In November of 2018, the FDA approved a new combination for the use of elotuzumab – this time in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone. The approval was granted based on the results from the ELOQUENT-3 study showing that elo, pom and dex had better outcomes than pom and dex alone. Elotuzumab is typically never used[...]

Obesity is a rising and very dangerous epidemic – the latest federal numbers state that an ever-increasing 36% of Americans aged 20-39 are obese. Even more alarming is that if trends continue, 57% of children in the United States will be obese by age 35. According to research, rates of six different cancers (multiple myeloma, colorectal, endometrial,[...]

Patients who are minimal residual disease negative (or have no detectable myeloma) before or after their stem cell transplant have better progression free survival than patients with detectable disease, according to a recent study.  Theresa Hahn, PhD, from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York presented the results at the recent Transplantation and Cellular Therapy[...]

As CAR T therapy becomes more prevalent in the clinic, doctors are beginning to see how T cells can become too tired to fight the cancer in some patients. Scientists at the La Jolla Institute of Immunology (LJI) have found a way of counteracting this exhaustion to make the CAR T therapies work better. In[...]

Karyopharm received a vote yesterday denying early approval for the combination of Selinexor/dexamethasone at the FDA briefing meeting to the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC), or the committee that provides recommendations to the FDA. The FDA typically votes with ODAC recommendations, but a formal vote will be coming on April 8, 2019.  Karyopharm hoped that the[...]

  The Stillwater, MN Multiple Myeloma Support Group will be featuring HealthTree in their upcoming meeting on Wednesday, May 8. Jenny Ahlstrom, founder of the Myeloma Crowd and HealthTree, will present the HealthTree tool at the meeting. Our HealthTree summer 2018 tour brought us to 50 cities where we shared the new HealthTree tool with[...]

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[...]