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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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Last week’s 4th Annual ESLHO (European Scientific foundation of Laboratory Hemato Oncology) Symposium in Zurich, Switzerland was the first ever dedicated exclusively to examining “New Developments…
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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…
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In the current issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Hagop Kantarjian, MD and S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD discuss the high cost of cancer drugs and propose some solutions. The high cost of cancer drugs is…
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Next Generation Flow Cytometry Workshop in Japan
On Saturday and Sunday, the IMF was honored to chair a workshop in Tokyo, Japan, which introduced Next-Generation Flow Cytometry to more than 160 researchers and technicians eager to learn about this super-sensitive automated new myeloma measuring…
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This week’s news of interim results from the ENDEAVOR trial, a head-to-head comparison of “real world” schedules of Kyprolis versus Velcade, reveals an impressive benefit of carfilzomib over bortezomib in relapsed…
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In a surprise move this week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Farydak®, despite the 5-2 vote by the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommending against approval in November…
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In a highly anticipated decision announced this week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Revlimid in the frontline setting based upon the results of the FIRST trial (which I have discussed in the IMF’s presentation on news from the 2014 American Society of Hematology…
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Cases of measles have been very much in the news: 121 cases (as of today) reported in the U.S. this year. To assess how much myeloma patients might need to be concerned or not, it is helpful to put this number of cases in perspective.
Since 2001 in the U.S., there have been up to 220 cases a…
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There has been some discussion lately about an alternative method of funding myeloma research known as crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is the act of raising money from a large number of individuals on the internet for a specific project or venture.
Is this something that might be helpful for the…
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Pomalidomide Access Program for Relapsed Myeloma in AsiaAccess to new drugs outside of the US is frequently delayed by several years following FDA approval in the US. For example, lenalidomide (Revlimid®) received US FDA approval in June 2006, yet is still not fully approved and available globally…
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In preparing for my “Best of ASH 2014” presentation, I noted there were plenty of new drug presentations, but not as many as were presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in 2013. This raised the questions: “What is the driving force behind new drug development in…
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A new study published in Science magazine and reported in the New York Times this week shows that random mutations in normal tissues are more important than…
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In a newbook, writer Diane Kochilas explores why “the small Greek island of Ikaria is home to some of the healthiest, most vibrant people on earth.”…
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More than two dozen experts from around the world gathered in Minneapolis, Minn. Oct. 27, 2014, to assess the current landscape for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) as an option for myeloma patients who have relapsed. “Salvage” transplant—despite its rather gruesome-sounding name—offers an…
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Today's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) hearing convened in an optimistic fashion with many in the myeloma community expecting there would be a recommendation for approval of panobinostat, an HDAC inhibitor used in combination with Velcade and dexamethasone. Publicly available data…
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For some time, members of the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG), the IMF's research division, have been trying to identify and describe a group of patients without CRAB…
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In a recent paper in the journal Blood, Dr. Bart Barlogie and his team at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock claim they are "Curing myeloma at last: defining criteria and providing the evidence." This is a bold statement. I would argue that while the…
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In recent weeks, you may have seen full-page newspaper ads signed by 160 award-winning scientists from around the world pleading for funding to help save the planet in the face of climate change. This week, the United Nations convened what the New York Times called "…
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Recently there has been a discussion among some myeloma patients concerning the need for fully personalized myeloma treatment. Is there a benefit to this type of approach? Intuitively, the answer is "yes." But I would argue that "no" is the better answer.
Let me explain. Yes, there are…
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After more than10 years of progress in myeloma treatment due to the introduction of the novel therapies, researchers now need to know how to eliminate the myeloma cells that remain after current therapies. Today, we are on the brink of having a test that will help us have a clear plan to eradicate…
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A new update from the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) at Mount Sinai Hospital combined with data from the New York City Fire Department indicates that …