HealthTree Podcast for Multiple Myeloma

CAR T therapy has been in development for over 20 years. The first CAR T therapy is now available for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The ide-cel treatment (now called Abecma) is now FDA approved for multiple myeloma relapsed or refractory patients. In this show, Dr. Noopur Raje of Mass General Hospital will share how the CAR T cell therapy works, outcome data from clinical trials, a review of patients who are eligible to join and when patients should consider the therapy in context of other therapies. Ide-cel (Abecma) is a product developed by Bristol Myers Squibb and blubird bio. Thanks to our episode sponsor, Oncopeptides

Dr. Robert Z. Orlowski joins Myeloma Crowd Radio to share a study to share the new innovations myeloma patients can expect in 2021. He will review the recent findings from the American Society of Hematology meeting and share what we can expect from new combination therapies, best options for newly diagnosed myeloma patients, expected FDA approvals in 2021, CAR T advances, bispecific and trispecific antibodies, antibody drug conjugates, targeted inhibitors and new approaches for MGUS and smoldering myeloma. We invite you to join us for this well loved annual show. Dr. Orlowski is Chairman, Ad Interim, Director of Myeloma, and Professor of Medicine in the Departments of Lymphoma/Myeloma and Experimental Therapeutics, Division of Cancer Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Orlowski serves as Chair of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and is a member of the NCI Steering Committee, the Multiple Myeloma Tissue Bank Steering Committee, the Computerized Provider Order Entry Steering Committee, BMT Committee, and American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr. Orlowski is on the Editorial Board of Hematology and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Orlowski has received many awards over a number of years including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Scholar in Clinical Research, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Man of the Year Award, Emil Frei III Award for Excellence in Translational Research from MD Anderson and is the recipient of an ongoing SPORE grant from the NIH. Find news and information from his daily newspaper, Myeloma Daily or find him on Twitter at @myeloma_doc. Thanks to our episode sponsor, Karyopharm Therapeutics

Dr. Irene Ghobrial joins Myeloma Crowd Radio to share a study to identify discoveries that could potentially inform COVID-19 treatment decisions and prevention policies in the IMPACT study. Myeloma patients are known to be immunocompromised and may be at higher risk for poor outcomes. IMPACT is a study to identify the prevalence and unique characteristics of COVID-19 in individuals with precursor conditions to hematologic malignancies and in healthy populations. It is enrolling individuals nationwide who are enrolled in the PCROWD and PROMISE studies. All participants enrolled in IMPACT are screened using a blood test for active SARS-CoV-2 and/or antibodies. Participants are then followed and undergo additional blood collection and testing over a one-year period. The overall goal of IMPACT is to understand the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on the immune system of healthy individuals and individuals with underlying immune dysregulation. Thanks to our episode sponsor, Bristol Myers Squibb

The coronavirus continues to be a global concern for all citizens and especially for cancer patients. Where are we at now with our learning over the last seven months? Dr. Joshua Richter re-joins Myeloma Crowd Radio for an update on how myeloma patients are and should be navigating during the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to our episode sponsor, Takeda Oncology

A new clinical trial is open combining low dose melphalan, a drug commonly used at high doses for stem cell transplant, and high dose intravenous Vitamin C. Learn more about how these two treatments work synergistically and why they have been combined in a clinical trial at the University of Iowa. The University of Iowa has unique experience with IV Vitamin C and Dr. Yogesh Jethava joins Myeloma Crowd Radio to share this fascinating open study now enrolling patients. Dr. Yogesh Jethava is Associate Professor and Director of the Multiple Myeloma program as well as Associate Director of the Blood and Marrow Program at the University of Iowa. Prior to this appointment, he was director of the Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant Services Division of Hematology Oncology at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences or UAMS where he established the first fully functional allo transplant unit. There, he was Director and Attending Physician for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Subspecialty Clinic. Dr. Jethava is an International Myeloma Working Group member and part of the EMBT malignancy working group and is a member of the Experimental Therapeutics groups and others. He reviews abstracts for publications like blood leukemia in the Blood Cancer Journal, and he is also working on studies that involves high dose vitamin C infusions for plasma cell disorders like myeloma.