Blood Podcast Special Episode: Eliminating the Need for Sequential Confirmation of Response in Multiple Myeloma
Jun 10, 2025
Dr. Shaji Kumar, a Mayo Clinic expert and senior author on a pivotal Blood Journal article, discusses groundbreaking findings in multiple myeloma treatment. He reveals that using two simultaneous blood markers for disease progression is 98% accurate, compared to only 82% for sequential methods. This innovative approach could simplify patient assessments, reduce the need for multiple blood draws, and potentially alter international response criteria. Tune in to hear how these changes promise to enhance clinical trials and streamline myeloma management.
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Issue with Sequential Confirmation
- Traditional response criteria require two sequential tests to confirm myeloma progression to avoid errors from laboratory variability.
- This approach can delay clinical trial decisions and patient treatment adjustments unnecessarily.
Simultaneous Confirmation Accuracy
- Using two different markers from the same blood draw can simultaneously confirm myeloma progression.
- This method showed 98% accuracy compared to the sequential confirmation, reducing misclassification risk.
Revise Criteria for Efficiency
- The new data supports revising response criteria to allow simultaneous confirmation using multiple markers.
- This change could reduce false censoring in trials and lessen patient burden by limiting blood draws.