Tag Archive for: American Society of Hematology annual meeting

What Is the Role of Bispecific Antibody Therapy in the Future of Myeloma Care?

/in , , , , , , , /by

What Is the Role of Bispecific Antibody Therapy in the Future of Myeloma Care? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

From the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in San Diego, Dr. Peter Forsberg discusses how new data and learnings around bispecific antibodies may allow this newer myeloma therapy to be used more broadly in the clinical setting.

Dr. Peter Forsberg is associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and is a specialist in multiple myeloma. More about Dr. Forsberg.

See More from Evolve Myeloma

Related Resources:

Dr. Peter Forsberg | Myeloma Research News From the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting

Dr. Peter Forsberg | Myeloma Research News From the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting

 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About CAR T-Cell Therapy

Questions to Ask Your Doctor About CAR T-Cell Therapy

 What Myeloma Patients Need to Know About Bispecific Antibodies

What Myeloma Patients Need to Know About Bispecific Antibodies

Transcript:

Dr. Peter Forsberg:

The role of bispecific antibodies is one that’s evolving quickly. We’ve had new therapies approved over the past 12 months. We may get more approvals in the future. And we’re certainly going to get increasing data around using those treatments in our clinics outside of the controlled clinical trial setting as well as maybe information around more diverse utilization in different treatment settings.   

So, I think these are going to be medicines that are used much more broadly in the future than they are now. Right now, they have a really impactful role in a certain group of patients.  

I think that’s going to become something that’s broader in the future. And I really do think there’s something that’s going to help us to improve on already a really good group of options in earlier relapsed settings and maybe even upfront treatment of myeloma in the future. 

So, a lot to be figured out, a lot of refinement in the future about how and when to use these treatments. But it’s very clear that they’re going to have a huge impact in different settings.  

Dr. Peter Forsberg | Myeloma Research News From the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting

/in , , , , , , , /by

Dr. Peter Forsberg | Myeloma Research News From the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Myeloma specialist Dr. Peter Forsberg reviews highlights from the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting. Dr. Forsberg shares what this promising news means for patients as well as advice for talking to your doctor about emerging therapies.

Dr. Peter Forsberg is associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and is a specialist in multiple myeloma. More about Dr. Forsberg.

See More from Evolve Myeloma

Related Resources:

What Is the Role of Bispecific Antibody Therapy in the Future of Myeloma Care? 

 How Is Bispecific Antibody Therapy Changing Myeloma Care

How Is Bispecific Antibody Therapy Changing Myeloma Care?

 Developing Research and New Myeloma Treatment Options

Developing Research and New Myeloma Treatment Options 

Transcript:

Dr. Peter Forsberg:

My name is Peter Forsberg. I’m an associate professor at the University of Colorado. I am a specialist in multiple myeloma and other plasma cell disorders. And I’m here at ASH, where it’s always the most exciting time of the year for those of us in the hematology and hematologic/oncology community, where we are getting all the breaking information around all kinds of diseases.  

But a really exciting time in terms of new findings for myeloma and the other diseases we deal with.   

I think it covers a really broad spectrum. That’s been one of the really exciting things about myeloma over the past decade really is that we’ve had developments in so many different directions in terms of new therapies, new options for patients who need later line treatments, new options improving early line therapy.  

Certainly exciting to have a couple of very big studies that are being presented this year, two Phase III trials that look at four drug combinations in the newly diagnosed myeloma setting, which both show fantastic effectiveness. So, hopefully, really going to help expand that for patients with new myeloma to get really the best treatment out of the gate. And then, really maturing data around new immune therapies, both in the settings where they’re currently approved, which are sometimes later lines for myeloma patients. And then, more data on earlier lines for those therapies where they’re likely to be used in the very near future.   

At this meeting and over the past year, and ASH is always a big summation of a lot of the research that’s going on at any given time, the breakthroughs that are happening in myeloma, the innovation that’s happening in myeloma is very impactful for patients. It’s giving us great, improved options for earlier line patients allowing them to live better, live longer, preserving quality of life and then, giving us diverse new options in relapsed myeloma where we’ve had good tools but the broadening of that toolbox is very exciting.   

And it allows new and really effective options across all kinds of patient types. So, it’s really impactful across different settings.  

Patients shouldn’t hesitate to ask what are the new and developing treatment options, to ask their physicians are there new treatment options for myeloma that might be a fit for me now or in the future? Don’t hesitate to think about what might come down the road, even if you’re in a steady place with your myeloma because things are changing quickly.  

Our options now are different than they were six or 12 months ago and they’re going to be different six or 12 months from now.  

So, don’t hesitate to ask what’s new, what’s coming, should I meet with a myeloma specialist to discuss some of those specific options and whether they’re a fit for me. So, don’t hesitate to be the squeaky wheel a little bit and say what might be out there for me now or in the future.  

Expert Perspective | Understanding the Recent FDA CAR T-Cell Therapy Warning

/in , , , , , , , /by

Expert Perspective | Understanding the Recent FDA CAR T-Cell Therapy Warning from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in December 2023 that it is investigating reports of secondary cancers in some patients who have undergone CAR T-cell therapy, noting that “the overall benefits of these products continue to outweigh their potential risks for their approved uses.” Timothy Schmidt, a myeloma specialist, shares his perspective on the recent news.

Dr. Timothy Schmidt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. More about Dr. Schmidt.

See More from Evolve Myeloma

Related Resources:

Considering CAR T-Cell Therapy for Myeloma_ Key Questions to Ask Your Doctor

 Myeloma Research Highlights From ASH 2023

Myeloma Research Highlights From ASH 2023

Transcript:

Dr. Timothy Schmidt:

So, in terms of the FDA update about CAR T-cell therapies, there was a recent warning, essentially, about an increased risk for a specific type of lymphoma involving T cells. And we don’t really know a whole lot about this just yet. But what we do know is that these events are rare and that we need to investigate it further. I think as of right now, this is not a huge area of concern for most of us, myself included. 

When we have patients who are candidates for CAR T-cell therapy in multiple myeloma, generally, this means that patients are in need of a very effective treatment to get their disease under control and to do so for a long period of time. And the potential benefit of this therapy dramatically outweighs any of these kinds of long-term consequences or these newer things that are starting to develop. Now, I do think that this is something that we’re going to need to continue to keep an eye on. And we certainly can’t ignore this, especially as we start to move CAR T-cell therapy into earlier lines of therapy. 

But as of right now, I would not weigh this very heavily in my decision whether to do a CAR T-cell therapy for somebody with multiple myeloma. 

What Should Myeloma Patients Ask About Developing Research?

/in , , , , , , , /by

What Should Myeloma Patients Ask About Developing Research? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Myeloma research is evolving quickly, so what should patients ask their doctor to stay up to date? Dr. Timothy Schmidt, a myeloma specialist, shares advice.

Dr. Timothy Schmidt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. More about Dr. Schmidt.

See More from Evolve Myeloma

Related Resources:

Myeloma Research Highlights From ASH 2023

Myeloma Research Highlights From ASH 2023

 How Is Bispecific Antibody Therapy Changing Myeloma Care

How Is Bispecific Antibody Therapy Changing Myeloma Care?

 Myeloma CAR T-Cell Therapy_ How Does It Work and What Are the Risks

Myeloma CAR T-Cell Therapy: How Does It Work and What Are the Risks? 

Transcript:

Dr. Timothy Schmidt:

I think that in terms of new and developing options, patients should be asking their healthcare provider, their oncologist if they have experience using some of these newer drugs, specifically, the bispecific antibodies and CAR T-cell therapies. 

A lot of centers are starting to use these, particularly academic centers and some larger community centers as well. But not everywhere has experience using these. And so, asking your provider if it’s something that they would be a candidate for, particularly if the current treatment that patients are on is not working. And if your provider is not necessarily familiar with them, do they know somebody who is.  

And could you go at least for a discussion to talk to a myeloma specialist about whether these medications are right for you or whether there’s a clinical trial that they might be a candidate for, because what we’ve learned is that earlier implementation of some of these really effective therapies can really be a big deal for patients with myeloma. 

Patients can learn more about clinical trials from a variety of different outlets. I think the first place to start is with your local provider, your oncologist, asking that person if there is a clinical trial available. Most likely, the local provider is going to be able to point the patient in the right direction or at least let them know if something is going to be feasible for them. After that, often it involves reaching out to a local center, an academic center and getting a referral to somebody to see what is available at that site.   

But there are also a variety of websites that can be used to search for clinical trials if there are particular patients who are very interested in specific therapies, CAR T, bispecifics, or others that you can look around and try to find places that would be best for them. 

Myeloma Research Highlights From ASH 2023

/in , , , , , , , /by

Myeloma Research Highlights From ASH 2023 from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Dr. Timothy Schmidt, a myeloma specialist, walks through research and treatment news from the recent 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting.

Dr. Timothy Schmidt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology and Palliative Care at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. More about Dr. Schmidt.

See More from Evolve Myeloma

Related Resources:

What Should Myeloma Patients Ask About Developing Research

What Should Myeloma Patients Ask About Developing Research?

 Expert Perspective | Understanding the Recent FDA CAR T-Cell Therapy Warning

Expert Perspective | Understanding the Recent FDA CAR T-Cell Therapy Warning

 Developing Research and New Myeloma Treatment Options

Developing Research and New Myeloma Treatment Options

Transcript:

Dr. Timothy Schmidt:

So, there’s constantly a lot of new information and data coming out about multiple myeloma and new therapies. I would say at this ASH ’23 meeting, I think the biggest highlight is further confirmation of the utility of using CD-38 antibodies in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. We have a plenary abstract for the use of isatuximab (Sarclisa) in combination with carfilzomib (Kyprolis), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and dexamethasone (Decadron) that I’m anxiously awaiting hearing the data of later today, as well as a late breaking abstract talking about the use of daratumumab in combination with bortezomib (Velcade), lenalidomide, and dexamethasone. 

And both of these are studies that appear to show superiority of a four-drug regimen over a three-drug regimen. And we’re certainly looking forward to seeing the finalized data presented and extending the implementation of these highly effective therapies for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.  

I think what we’re also seeing here is just further data being presented about bispecific antibodies, CAR T-cell therapies, and other novel combinations in the relapsed and refractory setting, as well as some really interesting insights coming out in terms of the myeloma pre-cursor setting of MGUS from the IStopMM Trial and some other research. So, really excited to learn more about how to use all of these exciting new tools that we’ve got for patients with multiple myeloma across the disease spectrum.  

So, what this news means for myeloma patients is that outcomes are getting better. What it means is that we now know how best to use some of these tools that we’ve been developing for over a decade now in terms of maximizing responses, maximizing the number of patients who achieve remission and not just achieve remission but have a lasting remission in that first-line setting. And this is really going to lead to improved survival as well as improved quality of life when we start seeing year upon year of really high-quality survival from most of our patients with multiple myeloma. 

We’re also learning how best to use some of the even newer therapies. T-cell directing therapies such as CAR T-cells and bispecific antibodies. We are incredibly excited about how effective these drugs are for patients with multiple myeloma. 

And these are things that we’re already using in the clinic. And it’s important for patients to be aware so that when it becomes time to use these strategies that we can make sure that all patients have access to them.