At the culmination of the 8th Annual Asian Myeloma Network Summit in Seoul on Sunday, October 20, there were invaluable gems that attendees took with them from this year’s largest gathering of myeloma specialists, patients, and caregivers in Asia.
Here are some of the highlights from the 4th AMN Master Class and Patient Forums, and most importantly, from the 8th AMN Summit.
The 4th AMN Master Class: October 17-18
The 4th AMN Master Class was formally opened by Dr. Wee Joo Chng, AMN Chairman and Senior Consultant at the National University Cancer Institute, National University Health System in Singapore.
As of October 2024, the AMN has 192 members from China, Hong Kong, Japan, S. Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
This year’s Master Class program was highly successful in educating young and in-training myeloma doctors about the basics of myeloma and myeloma care, with 49 attendees from China, India, Japan, S. Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Topics ranged from Global MM Diagnostic Criteria, Prognostic Factors, Risk Stratification; Treatment Options in Asia for Newly Diagnosed Transplant-Eligible and Transplant-Ineligible MM Patients; Treatment Options in Asia for RRMM; CAR T-Cell Therapy and Other Immune Therapy Options; and Infection and Side Effects.
The 4th AMN Master Class gave participants the opportunity to present clinical cases which were reviewed by an expert faculty.
At the end of the program, a Master Class Exam was conducted for the participants, followed by a certificate ceremony during the Master Class dinner.
The 4th AMN Patient Forum: October 18
Patient groups from across the region came together to share and learn from their individual experiences. The Patient Forum had 58 representatives from myeloma patient groups from China, Hong Kong, S.Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.
IMF President & CEO and 28-year myeloma patient Yelak Biru did a presentation on IMF Patient Support Activities while IMF Senior Vice President of Business Relationship Management Diane Moran, RN, MA, EdM helped the participants familiarize themselves with the AMN Patient Tool Kit.
This was followed by Patient Society Reports led by Dr. Daryl Tan (Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital—Singapore).
Remarkable growth was seen among the newer members (Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand), while impressive progress was observed in the more established groups (China, Hong Kong, S. Korea and Singapore). The Korean Blood Disease Cancer Association led the way by providing numerous insights to their success.
Another highlight was the four working group sessions (i.e., Establishing a Society, Developing a Program, Working with Physicians, and Fundraising) in which the participants exchanged information and identified follow-up project requirements.
The 8th AMN Summit: October 18-20
The 8th AMN Summit was the main event, with AMN Chairman Dr. Wee Joo Chng leading the way in raising ideas for follow-up work (including real world – natural history studies); creating an AMN registry; launching new clinical trials (especially for high-risk patients); bridging therapy; and working on new or revised AMN treatment guidelines, to name a few.
Notably, myeloma experts from India participated in the AMN Summit for the first time.
IMF Chairperson of the Board S. Vincent Rajkumar of Mayo Clinic delivered a keynote address on “Improving Outcomes with Limited Resources.”
Sessions of the summit covered the Latest Updates on Treatment of Myeloma, High Risk Myeloma, Immune Therapy — Real World Data, Improving Access to Treatment, and the AMN Summit Working Group Sessions.
Dr. Wenming Chen: AMN Distinguished Service Awardee
The evening of October 19th concluded with the 2024 AMN Summit Award Dinner, with Dr. Wenming Chen receiving the AMN Distinguished Award from IMF Chairperson of the Board Dr. S. Vincent Rajkumar.
Dr. Chen is the second recipient of this prestigious award, an important milestone in the continued development of this regional initiative. With the increasing recognition of the AMN’s body of work, this award provides a spotlight to honor leading Asian myeloma specialists.
Dr. Chen’s outstanding contributions in the field of myeloma make him truly deserving of this international recognition. The IMF looks forward to more achievements and milestones from Dr. Chen in the AMN.
Working Group Reports and Looking Ahead
The summit focused on reports from the Working Groups: Infection and Side Effects, Immunotherapy, New AMN Research, Status of AMN Clinical Trials, and Status of the AMN Tissue Bank.
After delivering the reports, the next session discussed future directions of the AMN in terms of membership/outreach/cooperation with other regions, future arrangements for the AMN Summit, Master Class and Patient Forum, as well as AMN clinical trials.
Overall, it was a truly enriching and successful AMN Summit this year—generating a lasting impact not just within the Asian region, but across the global myeloma community.
We all look forward to the 2025 AMN Master Class, AMN Patient Forum, and AMN Summit which will take place in Nagoya, Japan from October 16-19, 2025.
The IMF extends its warmest gratitude to the AMN members and the AMN Master Class and AMN Patient Forum attendees.
Also, kudos to the hard work and preparations made by IMF Senior Vice President of Global Affairs Daniel Navid, IMF Executive Vice President of Research and Operations Lisa Paik, and IMF staff members.
