Important Myeloma Research Presented at ASCO and EHA 2023

Presented by Dr. Joseph Mikhael, IMF's Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Joseph Mikhael, the Chief Medical Officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, provided an overview of the research presented at the ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) and EHA (European Hematology Association) meetings in June.

He discussed three main areas of progress: CAR T-cell therapy, bispecific antibodies, and other novel approaches. CAR T-cell therapy has shown remarkable response rates, with cilta-cel demonstrating a significant improvement in progression-free survival compared to standard care regimens. Additionally, advancements have been made in accelerating the manufacturing process of CAR T cells and targeting new antigens such as GPRC5D. Bispecific antibodies, particularly talquetamab and teclistimab, have shown promising results in combination therapies targeting both BCMA and GPRC5D, with response rates exceeding 90%. Other notable findings include the potential of Elranatamab and linvoseltamab as future treatments for multiple myeloma. 

Overall, these developments are paving the way for earlier and more effective treatments in multiple myeloma.

• CAR T-cell therapy has revolutionized the treatment of multiple myeloma, with unprecedented response rates observed with drugs like cilta-cel.
• The CARTITUDE-4 trial compared cilta-cel to standard care regimens in patients with early relapse of myeloma, demonstrating a dramatic improvement in progression-free survival.
• Efforts to accelerate CAR T-cell manufacturing processes have shown success, reducing the time required from weeks to a matter of days.
• New CAR T-cell therapies targeting GPRC5D have shown impressive response rates, even in patients who previously received BCMA treatments.
• Bispecific antibodies, such as talquetamab and teclistamab, are being explored in combination therapies targeting both BCMA and GPRC5D, resulting in response rates over 90%.
• Elranatamab and linvoseltamab are emerging as potential future treatments for multiple myeloma.
• The DREAMM-3 study on belantamab mafodotin (GSK2857916) yielded negative results, leading to its removal from the market, but there were indications of the drug's activity in other trials.
• Maintenance strategies involving carfilzomib and pomalidomide are being investigated for higher-risk patients, showing promising results.
• The MASTER protocol presented at the EHA meeting explores an intense combination therapy in frontline therapy and aims to achieve MRD (minimal residual disease) negativity, potentially allowing for treatment discontinuation.
• Challenges remain with these new treatments, including infection risks that require close monitoring, but progress is being made towards finding a cure for multiple myeloma.