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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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Black Swan: A Myeloma Moonshot for a CureVice President Joe Biden’s cancer “moonshot” has been very much in the news since it was made widely public…
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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…
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This year’s Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL, December 5-8.
For 2015, there were 798 abstracts dealing with myeloma. The selected abstracts were, as usual, divided into several oral sessions with usually…
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MRD Testing Takes Center Stage in Myeloma CareLast week’s 4th Annual ESLHO (European Scientific foundation of Laboratory Hemato Oncology) Symposium in Zurich, Switzerland was the first ever…
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This past week has been full of controversy about the dangers of bacon and processed meats. Some are calling it “bacon-gate.” The World Health Organization (WHO) and its linked research group, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC),…
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The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) team—Susie Novis, IMF President; Lisa Paik, Senior Vice President, Clinical Education & Research Initiatives; Dan Navid, Vice President, Global Affairs; and myself— just returned from Beijing, China, where we participated in what will be the annual…
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The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently released a treatment rating system they call “Evidence Blocks” for myeloma treatment. These grids add categories and definitions…
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A recent provocative report by Lisa Abegglen and a team from the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah showed that elephants from the San Diego Zoo had 20 extra copies of the p53 gene. Since p53 is a tumor…
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Feedback from the large International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) meeting in Rome is still filtering in. There were around 3,000 attendees for this mini-ASH type symposium focused on myeloma. The event offers a comprehensive update for those not immersed in myeloma through their research or daily…
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Bruno Paiva Wins Bart Barlogie Young Investigator Award During the “Rising Stars” session on Saturday, Sept. 26th at the International Myeloma Workshop (IMW) in Rome—co-chaired by IMW organizer Dr. Antonio Palumbo and myself—Dr. Bruno Paiva from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain was…
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Last week's blog about the link between Agent Orange and the likelihood of developing MGUS and myeloma clearly struck an emotional chord: many are concerned especially about the broader implications. Were others…
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For the first time, direct serum measurements of the known human carcinogen 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in Agent Orange have been linked to the likelihood of developing MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance) and myeloma. In a…
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For the fourth year in a row, a group of physicians from leading medical institutions in China came to Los Angeles to learn about myeloma during the International Myeloma Foundation’s unique Myeloma Master Class. During the course of the seven days, they expanded their knowledge of what is possible…
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The major article today in the New England Journal of Medicine is a report of a study with lead author, Dr. Henk Lokhorst (from VU University Medical center in Amsterdam, Netherlands) which summarizes the phase I – II trials…
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This week reports in two highly respected medical journals—the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine—agree that…
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Two new articles give completely different perspectives on the value of precision medicine. In the case of myeloma, precision medicine means the development of new, targeted therapy based upon specific gene mutations in the myeloma. A review article in…
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Cancer drug costs are high. In an effort to rationalize the use of expensive drugs, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has proposed what they call a “Value Framework.” This framework uses a complex points system (See Fig 1. of …
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Dan Buettner, the author of a book about the long-lived residents of the so-called “Blue Zones,” recently organized a small dinner party in New York, which was chronicled by the New York Times under the headline “…
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Everyone’s genes are slightly different. The differences are grouped into categories, which are called polymorphisms. A gene can be different at a single point—one of the nucleotides which string together the DNA chain of genes and sequences controlling gene function. A single-point difference is…
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The Black Swan Research Initiative® (BSRI) is on the brink of several key steps forward, I am happy to report. Great progress has already been made. The…
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A new epidemiology study from the American Cancer Society indicates that women who spend more than six hours per day of leisure time sitting are at an increased risk of developing multiple myeloma.…
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My last blog on the costs of drugs for the treatment of myeloma raised a number of issues for discussion, none more so than the heartfelt comment by Robert Fowler, who communicated to us his concerns about costs and the impact those costs may have on insurance for his fellow employees. Questions…
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The Supreme Court decision issued today means that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not derailed, and 6.5 million Americans do not drop off the benefit rolls. This is certainly good and helpful news but does not alter the fact that our healthcare system is still in crisis mode. The continued rising…
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At the recent annual meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Hematology Association (EHA), important data were presented on the monoclonal antibodies elotuzumab and daratumumab. The first acts against SLAMF7 and the second against CD38. These new targets on the…
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There is much hype these days about genetic research and big data analyses. How do those approaches apply to myeloma? Are they the appropriate approaches for myeloma research?
In an article that has drawn much attention this week, science writer David Dobbs provides a…
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The 2015 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is almost upon us. It is being held in Chicago from May 29th to June 2nd. This year, approximately 100 abstracts will focus on myeloma. Thus, although many fewer than at the annual meetings of the American Society of…
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In the two weeks since we lost one of our most beloved patients, our inability to cure myeloma has been staring us in the face. It was absolutely wonderful that Mike Katz lived 25 years after his initial diagnosis. But we need decisively better…
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The sad passing of Mike Katz on April 26th has left an enormous gap in the myeloma community. His family lost a husband, father, grandfather and so much more. For Mike’s three sons, missing Mike is especially poignant, as I learned through a deeply emotional week of loss. The…
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In last week’s blog, “How to Be Safer as You Live Longer,” I cited the value of annual PET/CT as a screening tool to monitor low-level myeloma, detect hidden infection or early second cancer. This prompted one reader to…
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As we continue to fight for the development of and access to new and better drugs, increasing numbers of myeloma patients are already living longer—certainly beyond 5 years, and often beyond 10 to 15 years. That’s certainly great news! But long-living myeloma patients need specialized care plans.…
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There is always something in the news about what to eat or drink. Eat this. Don’t drink that. You will get cancer. You won’t get cancer. What is one to do?
It’s helpful to keep in mind the simple idea that real food is still real and mostly good. Processed food is still processed and mostly bad…
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A segment on last Sunday’s edition of the CBS news show 60 Minutes illustrated how the injection of poliovirus into brain tumors can be dramatically effective. Three years after…
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The answer is a definite maybe! As myeloma evolves, it does so within the complex immune microenvironment of the bone marrow. The most well-known impact is the reduction in normal plasma cells and reductions in normal immunoglobulin production, causing reduced normal gamma globulins as part of the…