Day 1 Blog 1
What a day! I attended (watched and listened) to 18 presentations about myeloma. From monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) to smoldering multiple myeloma to stage III high-risk patients. I wish I could have lingered after each talk and asked the presenter to slow down and explain further why, how, and their conclusions.
I won’t try to summarize all 18 sessions, but let me tell you about a few that seem noteworthy (to me).
Real-World Safety and Efficacy of Teclistimab for Heavily Pretreated Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM). As this was not a clinical trial, but a real-world trial, it seemed a bit of a letdown. It did not have great outcomes, but the presenter felt it showed progress in a very tough population.
Another study of CAR T patients looked at inflammatory biomarkers and outcomes in multiple myeloma patients. For example, a high ferritin level was a biomarker that predicted poorer progression-free survival (PFS) in cilta-cel patients. Another study looked at the ability of CAR T treatment to change a person’s T cellls.
My favorite presenter was from the iStopMM project in Iceland. First of all, he was just a little funny with an accent I really liked (one that reminded me of a dear friend from Finland). His first presentation showed that early diagnosis has clear benefits. He also presented later about a positive connection between MGUS and venous thrombosis.
A study that looked at venetoclax with Darzalex (daratumumab) and dexamethasone in patients with t(11;14) demonstrated that these patients have better outcomes with the addition of venetoclax.
Other presentations were about less invasive testing (peripheral blood vs bone marrow), which is something all patients are hoping for!
The brevity of this blog compared to my two blogs yesterday is an indication of my brain fatigue. Tomorrow will go from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. I hope I have more than a sentence or two!
— Barb Davis
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