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2017 Myeloma Research Updates from ASCO, China, and iStopMM The abstracts for the 2017 ASCO annual meeting, to be held June 2nd to June 6th in Chicago, were released late yesterday. Among the 84 myeloma and/or amyloid or plasma cell disorders abstracts, there…
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From May 4th through May 6th, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) made its presence known around the globe. Reflecting on the many activities the IMF was involved with, I realize how lucky we are and how critical it is to be part of so many wonderful and important collaborations. It is…
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On April 15, 2017, Emma Morano passed away peacefully in Verbania, Italy at the age of 117 years, 137 days, and 16 hours! She was the oldest person in the world, according to her …
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A blood test for MRD monitoring?
Through the IMF Black Swan Research Initiative® projects, several myeloma teams have been investigating different blood tests for monitoring low levels of myeloma (MRD: minimal residual disease). One…
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The Tsimane tribe lives in the Amazon lowlands of Bolivia. For some reason, according to a new …
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In 2002, I published one of the first papers on the use of radioactive sugar (F18 fluorodeoxyglucose, or FDG) as an imaging agent in plasma cell disorders. At that time, I was fortunate to work at one of the first centers…
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When there is so much that is negative in the news, it is great to be able to report today that myeloma clinical trials with selinexor (KPT-330) can again move forward. Selinexor, as I explain in this…
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When there is so much that is negative in the news, it is great to be able to report today that myeloma clinical trials with selinexor (KPT-330) can again move forward. Selinexor, as I explain in this…
Videos
Description:Learn about transitions of care in multiple myeloma, emphasizing the importance of coordinated communication.Learning Objectives:Identify key transition points requiring enhanced coordination…
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The 16th International Myeloma Workshop was held in New Delhi, India March 1-4. This gathering of those interested in myeloma from around the world was definitely a global amalgam. The format included multiple short presentations to encompass the full…
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Why Iceland for iStopMM MGUS Screening (2017) CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and his team traveled to Iceland last week to explore the country’s innovative medical projects. During their visit I was honored to have been interviewed by Dr. Gupta, along with Dr. Kári…
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When a myeloma treatment or research plan comes together, it can be a great achievement. But it is unlikely to occur by chance. The goals and options need to be laid out very carefully ahead of time.
For patients today, we know that a…
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A new book, “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters,” highlights the disconcerting rise in anti-expertise sentiment in the U.S. In the era of…
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“Our primary objective is to cure myeloma by preventing malignant transformation in patients at risk.” Those are the words of Bruno Paiva, principal investigator of our Black Swan Research Initiative® (BSRI) project in Pamplona, Spain. To truly achieve…
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The IMF’s Black Swan Research Initiative® took a major step forward this week in its mission to achieve a cure for myeloma. A study published in the journal Leukemia…
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As many of you know, I have written close to 20 blog posts about food (available here), a favorite topic. The subject has been in the news so often lately that it seems like a good time to update my comments.
My recommendations for a healthy diet in 2017 have not…
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I often discuss the good and the bad in the news. But I thought it would be great to start 2017 with just the good! The SWOG 0777 trial results, recently published in The Lancet, and serum…
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Among the 688 myeloma-related abstracts presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) this year, one stands out. This is “Late-Breaking Abstract: LBA-1,” presented by Dr. Ed Stadtmauer on Tuesday…
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Iceland’s iStopMM Screening Program for MGUS and Smoldering Myeloma This week, the iStopMM team launched the ambitious screening, treatment, and prevention program for MGUS, SMM, and…
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On Saturday, November 5, 2016, Co-founder and President of the International Myeloma Foundation Susie Novis Durie and Chairman of the Board Dr. Brian Durie kicked off the 10th Annual Comedy Celebration at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles. They gave a warm welcome to the audience and…
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MRD Testing in Multiple Myeloma After NCCN Endorsement NCCN endorses MRD testing: what does this mean for patients?This past week the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)…
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This past weekend members of the IMF’s Asia team visited Shanghai, China. There were meetings with both myeloma doctors and patients. In 2011, the IMF created the Chinese Myeloma Working Group (CMWG) with the support of myeloma experts Prof. Wenming Chen, Prof. Jian Hou, and colleagues. Joint…
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“Adopt not adapt” was the mantra as more than 124 attendees listened intently to the opening lectures given by Dr. María-Victoria Mateos, Dr. Bruno Paiva, and myself at last week’s 2nd…
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iStopMM Report from Iceland
The IMF team just returned from the exciting iStopMM kickoff meeting held on September 26-27th at the deCode Genetics facility at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. A…
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There have been recent commentaries on the prospects and potential for both what is called "precision oncology" and Vice President Joe Biden's Cancer Moonshot program. Although I have discussed both in the past…
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The iStopMM research project is about to start in Iceland. It is supported through the IMF’s Black Swan Research Initiative®, and literally will include Screening, T…
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In an important paper published recently in the journal Blood, researchers from the Netherlands and Belgium correlate the response to daratumumab (dara), the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, to the level of CD38 expression…
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As the dust settles from all the activity surrounding new drug approvals and the potential for further approvals, it is time to reflect on what the future holds for myeloma patients.
The good news is that the future looks bright. The vast majority of patients will achieve excellent, deep…
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Janssen’s Darzalex®, or daratumumab, has been granted “Breakthrough Therapy” designation by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in combination with Revlimid® (lenalidomide) and dexamethasone, and Velcade® (bortezomib) and…
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This week, Dr. Shaji Kumar shares the details of the upcoming US ASCENT “Cure Trial” in a video interview on IMF-TV. ASCENT stands for Aggressive Smoldering Cure Evaluating…
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The answer is a definite yes and no! Yes, it is now a priority to test for minimal residual disease (MRD) in myeloma clinical trials. However, no, MRD testing is not yet recommended in routine clinical practice. But I’m pleased to report that we are getting there.
In the next two weeks,…
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Myeloma Data Sharing and MRD Trials with IMWG and Black Swan Vice President Joe Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot Summit last week brought the search for a cure back into the news with the announcement of the “shared…
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Synergy at the 7th Annual IMWG Summit was the hallmark of this year’s event in Copenhagen, Denmark. Despite very tight scheduling—many key speakers flew directly from the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago—the level of engagement and collaboration was…
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The much-awaited ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review) Final Report for myeloma relapse therapies, issued on June 9th, is very tentative and less of a report than an admission that they do not have the expertise to adequately assess the complexities of new myeloma therapies. Functioning…
ASCO 2016: More excitement about daratumumab (Darzalex®), and tremendous interest in value and costs
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As usual, far fewer myeloma-related abstracts will be presented at this year’s meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) than are presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH)…
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The heated discussions about a report on the value of myeloma drugs issued by the Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) have brought into focus the pricing of a year of life. New York Times blogger Susan…
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The Role of Myeloma Experts in Shaping Patient Treatment Recommendations
In my previous blog, I wrote about the myeloma drug cost assessment report drafted by the Institute for…
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Until earlier this year I was unfamiliar with ICER (Institute for Clinical and Economic Review). Then, I started to read reports about the methodological flaws and factual errors in the institute’s recently released report, “…
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iStopMM Iceland MGUS Screening Study As announced this week, the IMF is funding the iStopMM (Iceland Screens Treats or Prevents Multiple Myeloma) study, an exciting new addition to…
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Almost two years ago, I wrote about encouraging new research on virus or “viro” therapy for myeloma. Stacy Erholtz, a 50-year-old myeloma patient at the Mayo Clinic, had a dramatic response when treated with a massive dose of…
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The bombings in Brussels made this a tough week for the global community, but President Obama pressed ahead with his historic visit to Cuba. In his speech on Tuesday, he cited examples of past medical collaborations between our two countries, such as the work of…
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This past weekend, I took an evening off to attend the Southern California Distinguished Speaker series featuring theoretical physicist and futurist Prof. Michio Kaku. After seeing the 2014 movie, “Interstellar,” I was hoping to find out if Prof. Kaku thought it was…
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A recent article raises the possibility that “Crowdfunding Is Evil: At Least When It Comes to the Public Good.” Writing in Wired magazine, Peter Moskowitz focuses primarily on the work of Daren Brabham of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC.…
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Two weeks ago in my blog, I discussed a Yale News story that announced: “Yale researchers discover underlying cause of myeloma.” I pointed out that they had shown evidence that a lipid trigger factor was involved in the…
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A report this week issued by Yale News announced “Yale researchers discover underlying cause of myeloma,” citing an article published today in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled, “Clonal Immunoglobulin against…
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Collaboration vs. Independent Research: Finding the Right Balance in Myeloma Science
The successes achieved by the IMF’s International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) are due, in large part, to collaboration. Bringing myeloma researchers together…
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Two new books illustrate both the obsessions and confusion about food. In her book, “I’ll Have What She’s Having: My Adventures in Celebrity Dieting,” Rebecca Harrington describes her adventures in celebrity…
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Vice President Joe Biden’s cancer “moonshot” has been very much in the news since it was made widely public in President Barack Obama’s State of the…
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As we start off 2016, there is excitement in the air. Three new drug approvals, the Black Swan Research Initiative® is moving strongly into cure…
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November was an amazing month for the myeloma community: FDA approval for three new therapies. The very good, but challenging problem is how to integrate and use these three new agents within the recommended treatment protocols for myeloma patients.
First monoclonal antibody approved…