There is no other single conference where so much information is presented about myeloma. Information about so many topics is provided: How to treat multiple myeloma patients in various stages; results of phase II & III trials which may indicate upcoming FDA approvals; treatment considerations of monoclonal gammophathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) patients; pre-clinical research focusing on myeloma targets and cell understanding; and more.
This year, the 65th American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting will be a “hybrid” meeting (combination of in-person meeting in San Diego and virtual via zoom). With 30K attendees most of them clinicians, researchers, and pharma reps — I’ll actually be attending virtually. I’m so grateful to the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) and their sponsors for registering me to attend, and I look forward to blogging about each day’s highlights. Finally, I’ll create a multi-page summary of the most interesting takeaways from my perspective and share this with my support group, post it on our support group website, and distribute it to anyone else who requests it.
As background, I attended my first ASH meeting 18 years ago and found it a bit like being diagnosed with myeloma 29 years ago. The terminology and amount of information was overwhelming. However, I remember being so impressed that presentations focused as much on patient side effects as they did on treatment responses. I’ve learned to prepare a few weeks ahead of time, and I have already reviewed many of the myeloma abstracts and created my personal agenda of talks I want to view. These presentations will typically be oral abstracts of clinical trial results, symposia (case studies and various treatment considerations), and educational programs rather than biological lab studies. The meetings I will attend have more immediate value to patients undergoing treatment or to the newly diagnosed. By the way, you can also check out the abstracts (a summary of the planned presentations) by visiting www.hematology.org, although numerical details and conclusions of these abstracts are often updated during the actual presentations.
This year, I expect to hear more about immunotherapies than ever before, specifically CAR-T and bi-specifics that target multiple myeloma cell proteins, and how best to sequence these treatments. Patient responses are 2-3 times better than responses to drugs like Revlimid and Velcade but most patients still relapse. How can we make these treatments last longer, e.g, give them as earlier lines of treatment, or change the design mechanism of the medication? My hope is that ASH presentations will provide insights on this topic.
I’ll be blogging every night during the December 8-12, 2023, ASH meeting, providing my takeaway highlights presented earlier that day. Along with several other patients/support group leaders the IMF brings to ASH, I look forward to sharing our experiences together via blogging and tweeting. We hope to keep you well informed from our individual patient perspectives. Of course, you’ll have other vehicles to learn about ASH in the weeks that follow, including webinars, telephone conferences, seminars, support groups, and more. Maybe your own oncologist will be at ASH. Take advantage of these resources and become your own best patient advocate.
— Jack Aiello, on Twitter @JackMAiello