Multiple myeloma treatment can cause "financial toxicity" for patients who are trying to pay for care that will give them optimal outcomes. Diahanna Valentine joins the Myeloma Crowd to discuss financial resources that are available to myeloma patients in this informative. show.  Diahanna is Owner and Founder of Critical Care Financial Consulting, LLC which takes a holistic approach to managing your finances in the face of a critical or chronic illness. She is an 18+ year Financial Advisor, providing Holistic planning for individuals and businesses and has 9+ years as a project Manager in Healthcare Services, Construction and the Investment Industries. Diahanna has a BA in Political Science and is HIPPA Certified. She also received her training as an Oncology Financial Patient Advocate from George Washington University. Diahanna is Licensed as a Health and Life Agent and is also maintains her Series 7 Investment Brokers License as well as the 63, and 66. Until recently, Diahanna was the Board President of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of KY and Southern Indiana. From 2015 until July 2017. Diahanna became intimately interested in financial planning for the critically and chronically ill after her husband was diagnosed with MGUS in 2002 then myeloma in 2005. Diahanna lives in Louisville, Kentucky and has two sons and 1 granddaughter. Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology.

Myeloma patients can't wait until blood-based "liquid biopsies" replace the dreaded bone marrow biopsy. Painful and intrusive, the bone marrow biopsy is today's "standard" of myeloma testing to determine levels of myeloma disease burden in patients. These biopsies need to be performed at diagnosis, relapse and repeated every so often to determine response to treatment. Researchers at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Harvard School of Medicine are creating a blood-based test that could provide easier measurements of disease burden. This would lighten the load for myeloma patients while still giving the needed information to measure disease progression and response to therapy. Learn more in this compelling show.

Sugar molecules could act as a smoke screen for multiple myeloma cells, essentially hiding them from the immune system.  The surface sugars, called sialic acids, can mark the cancer cells as “self” cells, giving the immune system the signal to ignore them.  Dr. Michael O'Dwyer is Director of the Blood Cancer Network Ireland and Professor of Hematology at the National University of Ireland Galway. Dr. O'Dwyer has expertise in the glycosylation process as it relates to multiple myeloma. The glycosylation process (or the reaction when carbohydrates is attached to other molecules) is a process that produces DNA, RNA and proteins. This normal process is altered in multiple myeloma and could cause changes in cell signaling, adhesion and drug resistance. In this show we will explore how this affects multiple myeloma, if food intake is related to the presence of sugar molecules and how it is tested for in myeloma. In 2015, Dr. O'Dwyer received a Clinician Scientist Award worth €1.7m from the Health Research Board to establish a translational research programme in multiple myeloma at NUI Galway. This helped lead to the Blood Cancer Network, Ireland, a Science Foundation Ireland/Irish Cancer Society funded network focusing on delivery of early phase clinical trials to blood cancer patients along with establishment of a biobank and registry.  Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology

The recent meetings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Hematology Association (EHA) occurred recently in May and June. There are a wealth of updates on up-and-coming therapies, use of combinations to improve outcomes, strategies to reduce side effects and much more from myeloma specialists across the world.  Dr. Sagar Lonial will join us to share an overview of the major themes in myeloma advances from his leading-edge perspective. Dr. Sagar Lonial is an  internationally recognized as a leading authority in multiple myeloma treatment and research. A Board certified hematologist and medical oncologist, Dr. Lonial staffs and works both on the transplant service as well as in the B-cell malignancy clinic. Dr. Lonial is involved in numerous professional organizations including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society of Hematology, and the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. He serves as Vice Chair of the Myeloma Committee in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and as Chair of the Steering Committee for the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium. Additionally, he is on the board of directors for the International Myeloma Society, and on the scientific Advisory Board for the International Myeloma Foundation. He is a member of the Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology.

Many patients are familiar with the monoclonal antibodies daratumumab and elotuzumab. These target a specific protein on the surface of myeloma cells. A new approach is in progress to target both a protein on the surface of myeloma cells (BCMA) while also activating the immune system's T cells. This is called a bi-specific antibody, going after two targets at the same time. Join us to learn more about this fascinating approach from German researchers Anja Seckinger, MD and Dirk Hose, MD of the University of Heidelberg. This could provide an off-the-shelf immunotherapy for myeloma patients that gives myeloma a double punch.  Special thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology.

Can the genetics of myeloma or other clinical factors predict who will progress from early conditions like MGUS and smoldering myeloma to active myeloma? Dr. Elisabet Manasanch of the MD Anderson Cancer Center is hosting a study in partnership with Signal Genetics/Quest to determine what is meaninfgul (or not) in determining who is most likely to progress and is thus most likely to receive treatment. Dr. Manasanch is also studying the new monoclonal antibody Isatuximab in a clinical trial for high-risk smoldering myeloma patients. The road to a cure may be earlier treatment in these precursor conditions while the disease is not as complex or aggressive. Learn more about this fascinating work to prevent myeloma from happening in the first place.

Today's myeloma therapy can help patients gain remission, but the combinations can cause their own side effects because they target normal cells as well as cancer cells. Investigators at the University of Iowa including Dr. Guido Tricot and Dr. Frank Zhan have tested mega-doses of Vitamin C in combination with the standard chemo melphalan and found that the Vitamin C can kill myeloma cells while not affecting normal cells. Additionally, it boosts the power of melphalan, so that melphalan can be used in smaller doses with fewer side effects. Learn more about this exciting discovery in this show Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology.

Dr. Gareth Morgan of the UAMS Myeloma Institute joins us to share more about the Myeloma Genome Project, a global effort to create a broad collection of high-quality genomic and clinical data from multiple myeloma patients to improve diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. The project will compile a broad set of genetic data and resulting outcomes to develop a strategy to segment patients into groups for more specific types of treatment. It also hopes to develop specific tests for disease-associated genetic mutations. The project is already integrating data sets from the UAMS Myeloma Institute, the National Cancer Research Institute's Myeloma XI trial, Intergroupe Francophone du Myeloma/Dana-Farber Cancer, and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Hear more about what has been learned so far and the future of this important project. Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology.

About 10-20% of multiple myeloma patients will develop a condition called amyloidosis during the course of their disease. Amyloidosis is a disease caused by protein buildup in organs such as the heart, kidneys, liver or intestines, leading to organ damage and complications associated with some multiple myeloma treatments. There are three major types of amyloidosis: primary, secondary, and hereditary.  Each type of amyloidosis is classified by its underlying causes and the type of protein that accumulates in organs. Primary amyloidosis is the most common form and occurs with multiple myeloma. The cause is unknown but the disease starts in the bone marrow. Fragments of abnormal antibodies (called light chains) stick to each other and accumulate in organs in the body. Heather Landau, MD of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center joins us for this episode of Myeloma Crowd Radio to discuss the latest therapies and clinical trials for amyloidosis patients. Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology

Allogeneic stem cell transplant is rarely used in multiple myeloma treatment, but for younger patients with high-risk myeloma, it could be a highly effective strategy with durable outcomes. Dr. Cristina Gasparetto from Duke University shares the rationale of this approach for a subset of myeloma patients and how improvements in reducing allo side effects (like graft vs. host disease) are making this type of transplant easier.  Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology