Multiple Myeloma Hub

During the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, the Multiple Myeloma Hub spoke to Efstathios Kastritis, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GR. We asked, What are the unmet needs in AL amyloidosis in Europe? AL amyloidosis is a rare disease caused by the accumulation of amyloid fibers in tissues and organs. In this podcast, Kastritis outlines the need for a more accurate and earlier diagnosis of AL amyloidosis. Kastritis then discusses the need for new therapeutic strategies in patients with advanced (stage IIIb) AL amyloidosis. Finally, he mentions the need for optimized treatment in patients who relapse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, the Multiple Myeloma Hub spoke to Marc Braunstein, NYU Langone Health, New York, US, and Mohamad Mohty, Hôpital Saint-Antoine and Sorbonne University, Paris, FR, about the role of upfront transplant consolidation in the era of novel agents.Long-term follow-up data about upfront autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) were presented at the 62nd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition. Mohty and Braunstein agree on the importance of auto-HSCT and on the fact that, when possible, it should not be delayed.They outline the value of upfront auto-HSCT even in the era of novel agents being developed for multiple myeloma. They also talk about consolidation and maintenance therapy after transplant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, the Multiple Myeloma Hub spoke to Maximilian Merz, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, DE, and Nizar Bahlis, University of Calgary, Calgary, CA. We asked, Can single cell sequencing help to better define and monitor multiple myeloma?Merz highlights the importance of defining what you want to study, the myeloma cells or the tumor microenvironment. He explains that with single cell sequencing it is possible to analyze different clones that are present in every patient with myeloma, and that in the future it will be important to look at risk-stratified therapy and identify modes of resistance. He also states that with single cell sequencing we can understand why certain therapies work in certain patients. Bahlis focuses on non-plasma cell compartment and single cell techniques. He gives an overview of the studies on single cell sequencing presented at ASH 2020. He also reports the results of a study performing a broad immunophenotypic and transcriptomic characterization, at the single cell level, of the peripheral blood and bone marrow T cells of sensitive and resistant patients with multiple myeloma treated with B-cell maturation antigen-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T-cell and bispecific T-cell engager therapies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the European School of Haematology (ESH) 5th Translational Research E-Conference on Multiple Myeloma, the Multiple Myeloma Hub was pleased to speak to Hermann Einsele, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, DE, about novel immunotherapies.Bispecific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells represent a novel interesting therapeutic option for patients with multiple myeloma. In this podcast, after explaining their mechanism of action, Hermann Einsele gives an overview of the major findings from clinical trials evaluating efficacy and safety of bispecific antibodies and CAR T cells. The advantage of bispecific antibodies in comparison to CAR T cells is that they are probably less toxic, with less severe cytokine release syndrome and lower neurotoxicity, thus more suitable for patients who are less fit. However, CAR T cells seem to be more effective, with response rates of up to 100% and complete remission rates that can be above 80%. In summary, both bispecific antibodies and CAR T cells are new immunotherapeutic strategies that show promising results in patients with multiple myeloma. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting I, the MM Hub was pleased to speak to Christine Spencer, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San-Francisco, US and Diwakar Davar, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Pittsburgh, US. We asked: how can we use the microbiome to improve cancer immunotherapy and alleviate side effects such as graft-versus-host-disease?In this podcast, Dr Davar starts by providing a background on the importance of the microbiome in adaptive and innate immunity, while Dr Spencer states the importance of the cross-talk between the microbiome and immune system through microbial products, peptides, and metabolites. Dr Davar then explains the concept of immunosurveillance, immunoediting, and checkpoint inhibitors. Dr Spencer describes fecal microbiome transplant studies that showed features of the microbiome can predict response to immunotherapy and effect T-cell expression. Dr Davar then describes some of the studies that are looking at fecal microbiome transplant in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. He goes on to discuss studies investigating the use of live bacterial products to elicit the same effects as fecal microbiome transplant, particularly the mediation of CD8 T cells. Dr Spencer also talks about probiotics, antibiotics, and diet and explains how this can affect the gut microbiome and describes studies looking at these features in terms of response to immunotherapies. She also describes the microbiome research related to graft-versus-host-disease and the impact of higher alpha diversity on post-transplant survival, while Dr Davar explains how the microbiome may also affect toxicity and side-effects of cancer immunotherapies.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During COMy 2020, Multiple Myeloma Hub Steering Committee Member Paul Richardson, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, US, spoke to the Multiple Myeloma Hub about advances in the novel, peptide-conjugated alkylator, melphalan flufenamide (melflufen).Melflufen has been successful in overcoming resistance to standard chemotherapeutics as well as novel agents, such as proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs. The high lipophilicity of melflufen facilitates rapid entry into myeloma cells. Furthermore, its alkylating activity is initiated by aminopeptidases, which are often overexpressed by myeloma cells, making the agent particularly selective. As a result, melflufen is better tolerated, with fewer off-target effects than its predecessor, melphalan.Here, Paul Richardson discusses the major findings from preclinical studies and topline data from ongoing clinical trials evaluating melflufen for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, the Multiple Myeloma Hub was pleased to speak to Katja Weisel, University Cancer Center Hamburg, Hamburg, DE. In this podcast she discusses the quadruplet combination of isatuximab with carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone for the treatment of high-risk newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.In this podcast, Katja Weisel describes the interim results of the phase II GMMG-CONCEPT trial including deep and durable responses, measurable residual disease negativity, remissions, and overall survival of the first 50 patients enrolled. She also discusses the trial design, including the cytogenetic features that classify patients as high risk, as well as the safety profile and dosing regimens. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, the Multiple Myeloma Hub was delighted to speak to Paul Richardson, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, US. In this podcast he discusses cereblon E3 ligase modulators (CELMoDs) as a novel approach in the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.Paul Richardson describes how preclinical data have shown CC-92480 to have potent and direct anti-myeloma and immunostimulatory effects. He discusses the results from the phase I, multicenter, international study that combined CC-92480 with dexamethasone in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma and describes the two dosing regimens (continuous and intensive), patient characteristics, and safety data. Dr Richardson also explains that the results show encouraging, durable responses, particularly for patients that have triple-refractory myeloma, which are a sub-group of patients where there is a significant clinical unmet need. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the 25th Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA), the Multiple Myeloma Hub was pleased to speak to Saad Usmani, Levine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health, Charlotte, US. In this podcast he discusses data from three clinical trials, which address the use of quadruplet treatments and anti-BCMA therapy for multiple myeloma.He describes the progression free survival, overall survival and safety profile of the 100 patients that were evaluable from the SWOG 1211 trial. This was a randomized, phase II trial, which evaluated lenalidomide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (RVd) induction followed by dose-attenuated RVd maintenance until disease progression with or without elotuzumab, in patients with high risk, newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.He then talks about the dose escalation results of first-in-human trial of teclistamab, a BCMA bispecific antibody, in terms of overall response rates and safety profile. He then mentions the randomized phase III study looking at belantamab mafodotin in combination with RVd in patients with transplant ineligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During COMy 2020, Nikhil Munshi, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, US, spoke to the Multiple Myeloma Hub about genomics of high-risk MM.Here, Nikhil Munshi highlights the positive shift in survival outcomes of patients with high-risk MM in recent years, owing to emerging treatments and diagnostic techniques. Three major points are discussed:1. Who is high risk?2. What are the characteristics of high-risk MM?3. How do we treat patients with high-risk disease? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.