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On Saturday, November 4, IMF president Susie Novis Durie and I will have the great pleasure once again of welcoming our guests to the 11th Annual Comedy Celebration benefiting the Peter Boyle Research Fund.
The generous donors who…
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The Expanding CRISPR Toolbox: A Path to Healthier Lives and a Sustainable Planet
Rapidly expanding CRISPR toolbox could make us all healthier and save the planet
Two recent publications in the prestigious journals …
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This past weekend (October 13-15), the International Myeloma Foundation convened the first Asian Myeloma Network (AMN) Summit in Seoul, Korea. The seven countries/regions that make up the AMN – China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Thailand –…
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The fundamental principle of the IMF’s Black Swan Research Initiative® is that we open every door and turn over every stone in the search for a cure. As it turns out, one of the stones to turn over is close to home.…
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How Gene Editing Can Lead to a Myeloma CureIn last week’s blog post, I discussed the ways in which CRISPR gene-editing technology is allowing researchers to study disease and intervene at the molecular level.…
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Exploring Gene-Editing Tools: A Roadmap to Myeloma Cure
CRISPR technology was the 2015 science breakthrough of the year. The…
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With the placement of two more checkpoint inhibitor combination trials on partial hold, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now halted all such trials from four different pharmaceutical companies: Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, and now Roche. Roche and it's subsidiary…
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With new drug approvals and expanded indications for new myeloma drugs at an all-time high, there is a sense of optimism in the myeloma community. Yet, even as patients experience longer survival,…
Closing or Halting of Myeloma Immune Therapy Trials: A Major Setback for Patients and Drug Companies
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When the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) halted three Keytruda (pembrolizumab) clinical trials recently because of unexpected deaths, it was cause for concern. This week, the FDA has acted to close further studies involving the…
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On August 24th, Genmab announced that the ALCYONE trial, which compared the combination of daratumumab…
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Solar Eclipse Proof That Science Works and Facts Matter At 10:21 a.m. Los Angeles time on Monday, August 21st, the moon covered 62% of the sun. In Oregon and across the US, there were 2.3 minutes of total darkness. Scientists had been informing everyone about this upcoming event for many years…
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As I reported in a previous blog, not only does the herbicide Roundup cause lymphomas and myeloma, its widespread use on GMO (genetically modified organism) crops has decimated milkweed, an herbaceous…
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The Future of Myeloma Treatment: Gene Editing and Its Potential Impact
Scientific breakthroughs in the news this week promise many practical implications for myeloma patients.
Out with the bad
Dangerous genetic mutations have been edited out (removed) from the …
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News about food is often a mix of conflicting advice and dubious claims. Three thought-provoking articles published this week caught my eye and offer plenty of food for thought.
Critique of the ‘diet-heart theory’
“Don’t believe the American Heart Association (AHA)—butter,…
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Patent extensions upheld and revealed
On Monday, July 17th, a US appeals court ruled that a patent on Takeda Pharmaceutical’s drug Velcade® (bortezomib) was extended to 2022.…
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CAR T-cell Therapy Approval for Leukemia and Its Impact on Myeloma Treatment
On Wednesday, an advisory panel convened by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted 10 to 0 to recommend the approval of CAR T-cell…
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Yesterday the FDA halted a third Merck myeloma trial involving the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda®). In all three trials, Keynote 183, 185, and 023,…
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2017 Global Myeloma Research Updates from IMWG and IMF This past week was very busy and important for the global myeloma community, which is increasingly coming together with a single voice for myeloma research and patient care. In Madrid, Spain, on the eve of the 2017 Congress of the European…
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CAR T-Cell Therapy for Myeloma: Promise vs. “Cure” ClaimsThe top news to come out of the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which concluded on Tuesday, focused on claims that immune cellular therapy with CAR T-cells provides a potentially curative approach for…
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Is Myeloma Prevention Possible? Insights from the iStopMM Project
Could myeloma be prevented through dietary recommendations, lifestyle changes, and occupational precautions? There is growing evidence that intervention strategies such as these might offer hope—and these ideas will be…
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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…
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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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Why Global Collaboration Is Essential to Cure Myeloma“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…
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Facts and Science Drive Black Swan's Search for a CureThe IMF’s Black Swan Research Initiative® took a major step forward this week in its mission to achieve a cure for myeloma. A…
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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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New MRD Testing Launched at IMF EuroFlow Workshop“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…
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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…
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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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4 Ways Iceland's iStopMM Will Help Myeloma PatientsThe iStopMM research project is about to start in Iceland. It is supported through the IMF’s Black Swan Research Initiative®, and literally will…
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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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Is MRD Testing Ready for Prime Time?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…