Featured in Clinical Research News, International Myeloma Foundation Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Mikhael talks about the IMF’s “overarching strategy as the convener of the broader myeloma community in ways that lead to improved outcomes for patients in terms of both their quality and quantity of life.” 

Dr. Mikhael delves into the Black Swan Research Initiative’s (BSRI) role in the search for a “true cure,” and how the “creative, collaborative, and comprehensive project is intelligently and systematically trying different methods.”  

The article highlights the collaborative efforts of the “best of the best experts” in the field of myeloma research which serves as the backbone of BSRI—myeloma experts across the globe are engaged in their respective fields of expertise: immune and blood monitoring and single cell resistance analyses (Spain); blood DNA mutational analyses and clinical trial assessment (Australia); early disease and full sequencing (Iceland); MRD testing (US); virtual tissue bank (Singapore); and family and retrospective studies (Germany), to name a few.  

Currently, BSRI is focusing its efforts on minimal residual disease (MRD, with the goal of achieving MRD negativity. “With standardized methods now in place to measure it, the technology can and is being incorporated into clinical trials,” according to Dr. Mikhael.  

“If you are going to cure a disease, you have to eliminate all of it,” said Dr. Mikhael about making MRD negativity as the goal.

The article refers to the iStopMM (Iceland Screens, Treats, or Prevents Multiple Myeloma) Project as “the most influential study of the decade.” 
 
With more than 75,000 Icelanders screened for monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), Iceland had “more patients than in any other country in the world [who] have had their whole genome sequenced through the huge deCODE Genetics laboratory.”  

According to Dr. Mikhael, the iStopMM study aims to achieve “a large volume of information” on the “real incidence of MGUS and SMM, whether the conditions have been defined correctly, the variables predicting who really needs a bone marrow biopsy, and the psychological effect of screening.”  

BSRI is also deeply involved in the CURE trials—the ASCENT (Aggressive Smoldering Cure Evaluating Novel RX Transplant) trial led by Mayo Clinic and launched in 2017; and the CESAR trial being led by the Spanish group since 2015. 

Dr. Mikhael refers to the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) as the IMF’s “crown jewel” approach to research. With more than 300 global myeloma experts at the helm, the IMWG makes scientifically sound decisions on various criteria—the most recent one being criteria for determining partial and full response as well as MRD negativity. 

Finally, Dr. Mikhael talks about leading the IMF’s M-Power Project—an “awareness initiative that seeks to enhance the care that gets delivered to African Americans with the disease.” He delves into M-Power’s strategy, which includes “engaging the community to build trust and raise awareness” of myeloma signs and symptoms, and “reminding primary care practitioners of the disproportionate incidence rates in these communities.” 

To find out more, read the full article from Clinical Research News.