The IMWG represents a global collaboration among top myeloma experts. It plays a pivotal role in making significant contributions to the myeloma community and advancing research, diagnostics, and treatment options.
If you have a question that you’d like to suggest for a future episode of Ask Dr. Durie, please submit it to [email protected].
Please note that Ask Dr. Durie is designed to address myeloma questions of the broadest possible audience interest. If you have a question of a personal nature, please contact our InfoLine Coordinators at 800.452.2873 or [email protected] (Please do not send email attachments or lab reports.).
This week’s Ask Dr. Durie comes from a person who had heard about something called the IMWG because there were meetings held for the IMWG over the summer months. And so her question is what is the IMWG? Very good question. The IMWG is the International Myeloma Working Group.
And so, this is a collection of currently 295 myeloma experts from 41 countries who get together for meetings and other activities to work on myeloma related projects. The major focus for the IMWG is to assess what are unmet needs within the myeloma community. What things need to get done related to criteria related to research or data gathering, important things that can be helpful to move myeloma knowledge forward.
Over the years, there have been many advances that have come through the activities of the IMWG. A summit is held—as was noted by this lady—in the summer months linked immediately preceding the European Hematology Association (EHA) meeting each year. And this is the main meeting for the IMWG called the summit.
In addition, there are other meetings and zooms that occur throughout the year. There is also a major IMWG breakfast which occurs at the time of ASH in December. Some of the accomplishments of the IMWG comes from the working committees. For example, recently two working committees have created the Immune Therapy Registry or database, and then another team has created the Virtual Tissue Bank.
Two very, very important ongoing initiatives. The kinds of things that have been developed over the years include; criteria for diagnosis, new criteria for high-risk smoldering myeloma, called the two 2/20/20 system.
There are also major ongoing projects, particularly the Black Swan Research Initiative, which is focused on the search for a cure for myeloma. And then there is the large project in Iceland called IStopMM, Iceland screens, treats or prevents multiple myeloma, which is a major epidemiologic type of program.
And so, the bottom line is that the IMWG is a major collaboration between top myeloma experts from around the world and making actually major contributions to the myeloma community.
Professor of Medicine, Hematologist/Oncologist, and Honoree MD at the University of Brussels, Dr. Brian G.M. Durie is a co-founder of the IMF and a member of the IMF Board of Directors.
