Tag Archive for: stem cell transplants

Clinical Trials for Myeloma Treatment | Essential Information for Patients

Clinical Trials for Myeloma Treatment | Essential Information for Patients from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How do clinical trials advance treatment options for myeloma? Dr. Omar Nadeem discusses the important role of clinical trials in improving patient care, key questions to ask your care team about trial participation, and the benefits of seeing a myeloma specialist. 

Dr. Omar Nadeem is the Clinical Director of the Myeloma Immune Effector Cell Therapy Program and Associate Director of the Multiple Myeloma Clinical Research Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Learn more about Dr. Nadeem.

Download Resource Guide

See More from Evolve Myeloma

Related Resources:

Next Generation Myeloma Treatment Options

Next Generation Myeloma Treatment Options

Personalized Medicine for Myeloma Treatment | What Patients Should Know

Personalized Medicine for Myeloma Treatment | What Patients Should Know

Myeloma Research Highlights From ASH 2023

Myeloma Research Highlights From ASH 2023 

Transcript:

Katherine:

I’d like to start with the importance of a patient’s healthcare team. What are the benefits to seeking care with a myeloma specialist, even if it’s just for a second opinion or a consult? 

Dr. Nadeem:

Yeah, so, myeloma is a little less than 2 percent of all cancers, and it’s the second most common blood cancer, so certainly not rare. With that being said, if you go to a general community practice, they don’t typically see too, too many patients with this disease. So, alongside that, we have so many different treatment options and combinations and these, as I mentioned, immune therapies.  

And other therapies that are only actually carried out at academic centers for now, such as stem cell transplants, and CAR T-cell therapy.  

I think it’s important to kind of meet with an academic provider just to get a sense of what the patient may be facing, both in that immediate time, but also in the future, because a lot of myeloma therapy is lifelong. And in that case, you do have to come up with a plan for your whole treatment in a way early. So, it’s important to kind of one: hear it from another person, and then two: really sort of figure out what the outlook would look like for the individual patient.  

With that being said, many of our myeloma regimens that are approved can very easily be given at the local provider, and that’s usually our preference, for patients to be treated closer to home. So, ultimately, this is another way for patients to get input about their treatment program, but also talk about the future.  

Katherine:

That makes sense. Specialists at academic medical centers are typically more involved in research and clinical trials. 

And patient participation is essential to advancing medicine. So, how do clinical trials impact myeloma care? 

Dr. Nadeem:

Well, everything that we have available today for myeloma therapy was once in a clinical trial. So, all these promising therapies usually start in early phase studies and move on to Phase II and Phase III studies, and then those are the ones that the FDA uses to approve a particular combination.  

So, it all depends on kind of where someone is in their disease course. It also kind of depends on what their preferences may be in terms of taking on something that is beyond standard of care. So, as part of any clinical trial in whatever phase it may be, whether its newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, even smoldering myeloma, which is one step before that, relapsed/refractory myeloma…  

At each step of the way, there are clinical trials that are there trying to improve upon what’s already out here, right? So, we are, despite all these amazing advances, unfortunately, the disease is still not curable for a vast majority of patients.  

In that case, how do we move to that cure, or how do we kind of advance the disease even beyond this? And a clinical trial is a way to do that.  

Katherine:

What type of patient is most appropriate for a clinical trial? 

Dr. Nadeem:

So, there are criteria that each clinical trial uses in terms of eligibility. Some of that has to do with the disease characteristic itself, kind of where somebody is in their disease course, but many times it’s also patients’ fitness, organ status in terms of kidney function, their blood count to some extent, heart function, etcetera. There are some sort of minimal prerequisite guidelines that we have to enroll patients in trials. So, it really, again, depends on where somebody is in their disease course and what they may be willing to take on beyond what may be offered to them as part of standard of care.  

Katherine:

What questions should patients be asking if they’re entrusted in participating in a clinical trial? 

Dr. Nadeem:

I think the important thing is to sort of first recognize what’s available to them as part of standard of care and then what the clinical trial is trying to answer.  

So, for example, if it’s newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, we now have quadruplet regimens that we give to patients at the time of their diagnosis, and then the next natural question for eligible patients that now comes up is whether they should do a stem cell transplant or not.  

And alongside that goes with all these advances in immune therapies, such as CAR T-cell therapies and bispecific antibodies. And there are now trials looking at those therapies and comparing them, for example, to stem cell transplant to try to answer the question “Can we get even beyond something like a stem cell transplant?”  

So, that’s one example of a trial where a patient may be interested in saying “Okay, well, a transplant may be my standard path, but what if I try to enroll in this study and get randomized, for example, to the CAR-T arm? Then, perhaps, I’m getting access to some of these therapies early and maybe that’s going to improve my outcomes.” 

Stem Cell Transplants for Myeloma: An Update

Stem Cell Transplants for Myeloma: An Update from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Expert Dr. Jeffrey Matous discusses the evolving role of stem cell transplant as a “standard of care” treatment and reviews therapies that are under study as alternatives to stem cell transplant.

Dr. Jeffrey Matous is a myeloma specialist at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute and the assistant chair in myeloma research for Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Learn more about Dr. Matous.

See More from Evolve Myeloma

Related Resources:

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

Myeloma Treatment: Who Is Stem Cell Transplant Appropriate For

How Is High-Risk Myeloma Assessed

Transcript:

Katherine:

PEN community member, Greg, sent in this question. “Can you discuss any future or potential changes to using stem cell transplant for myeloma patients? How would you counsel patients who do not want to pursue a transplant as a treatment option?” 

Dr. Jeffrey Matous:

So, for stem cell transplant in myeloma, for years, it’s been the standard of care for suitable patients.  

And every couple years, I liken this to that game we used to play called King of the Hill growing up where stem cell transplants, King of the Hill, and everyone tries to knock stem cell transplant off the hill. And so far, it really hasn’t happened. And so, transplants still, I think, an important part of the overall care for suitable patients. 

For patients who are eligible and safe enough to undergo transplant. However, not all – now, will this be challenged in the future? And the answer is – I think the next challenger, and this will be a serious challenger, will be CAR T-cell therapy. And so, we have to figure out if CAR T-cell therapy or the bispecific antibodies are safe enough to give at the beginning and as effective as stem cell transplant and what the long-term side effects, how they might differ, as well, so that question is going to be tackled in the myeloma word, but it’s going to be several years until we have an answer there, for sure.  

So, for my patients who are otherwise candidates for stem cell transplant, but who don’t want to do it, usually, I’ll say, “You may change your mind in the future. In myeloma, it’s important to keep all your options open and you should at least discuss with the transplant center collecting and freezing away your stem cells for a rainy day to keep that option open to you.” So, even you’re thinking of not doing it, it might be a good idea, it probably is a good idea, to harvest and store your stem cells at a transplant center.  

And then, if you’re not going to do transplant up front, they key is to stay on prolonged maintenance therapy  

We know that that’s one of the keys for making survival as long as possible in patients who don’t do a transplant is to continue on ongoing maintenance therapy as long as possible. Don’t curtail your therapy just because you’re not doing a transplant. 

Myeloma Treatment: Who Is Stem Cell Transplant Appropriate For?

Myeloma Treatment: Who Is Stem Cell Transplant Appropriate For? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

 Stem cell transplant can be an effective and viable myeloma treatment, but who is the treatment appropriate for? Expert Dr. Jeffrey Matous explains how stem cell transplants work and reviews factors that must be considered when determining if a patient is a candidate for this treatment option.

Dr. Jeffrey Matous is a myeloma specialist at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute and the assistant chair in myeloma research for Sarah Cannon Research Institute. Learn more about Dr. Matous.

See More from Evolve Myeloma

Related Resources:

What Myeloma Patients Need to Know About Bispecific Antibodies

Stem Cell Transplants for Myeloma: An Update

Transcript:

Katherine:

Stem cell transplant is often considered for myeloma patients. Can you talk about who this treatment option might be appropriate for? 

Dr. Jeffrey Matous:

Absolutely, so we’ve known for decades that, what I call high-dose chemotherapy, also called stem cell transplant, is a very effective and very potent treatment of myeloma and we’ve shown that time and time again in clinical trials, including some recent ones that are published just in 2022.  

And so, high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant is not for everyone. You have to be fit enough to undergo it, and this is not age-determined. It’s fitness-determined. And then, a lot of people live a long way from centers that perform high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplants. 

If patients have to travel hundreds of miles, then sometimes that comes into play. “Hey, I just can’t do this. I can’t get the time off, and uproot, and bring a caregiver, and travel 300 miles to get this care,” so sometimes that comes into play. Physician bias definitely comes into play. We know that some physicians are stronger proponents of high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant, and I fall into that category, but we have other physicians that may not even bring it up as an option to their patients. We know, for example, that African Americans and other minorities are notoriously under-referred for high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant. A lot of decisions go into that, and again, this is one of those situations where if you’re transplant-eligible, that means you’re young and vigorous, and on paper, a candidate. You want to go, at the very minimum, consult with physicians that do high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant and hear about that option. 

Why Is Multiple Myeloma Diagnosed Much Later in BIPOC Patients?

Why is Multiple Myeloma Diagnosed Much Later in BIPOC Patients? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo

How do multiple myeloma diagnosis and treatment differ in BIPOC communities? Expert Dr. Joseph Mikhael details some statistics on BIPOC myeloma patients, factors that can impact myeloma survival rates, and myeloma clinical trial participation rates of African Americans.

See More From the Myeloma TelemEDucation Empowerment Resource Center

Related Resources:

 
Is MGUS More Prevalent in BIPOC Communities?

Is MGUS More Prevalent in BIPOC Communities?

 

Will Telemedicine Mitigate Financial Toxicity for Myeloma Patients?

Will Telemedicine Mitigate Financial Toxicity for Myeloma Patients?

How Can We Address Noted Disparities in Multiple Myeloma?

How Can We Address Noted Disparities in Multiple Myeloma?

 

Transcript:

Dr. Joseph Mikhael:

We know that multiple myeloma is a unique disease in the African American, in the Black community, really for many reasons, primarily the disease is twice as common in Blacks than it is in Caucasians, we don’t fully understand all of the rationale and the understanding of that, the science behind that, but we know it’s just twice as prevalent.  What’s perhaps most disturbing is that despite knowing that it is twice as common, it is often not recognized and not recognized in time. The average time to diagnosis from the onset of symptoms to an accurate diagnosis is significantly longer in the African American community than it would be in the Caucasian community, and that’s an unfortunate reality. And that along with the treatment that individuals have access to, we’ve learned, unfortunately, that African Americans are less likely to receive triplet therapies or the combinations of chemotherapy that are so important, transplant that we know is stem cell transplants are very important in the treatment of myeloma, and access to clinical trials. African Americans constitute somewhere between 17 percent to 20 percent of all myeloma patients in this country, but actually, only reflect about 5 percent to 6 percent of clinical trial participation, and all of that has led unfortunately to an inferior survival rate in African Americans compared to Caucasians.

We’ve seen huge advances in survival in myeloma over the last decade, but for every 1.3 years gained by Caucasian patients, we’ve only seen 0.8 years gained in Black patients, so this is a disparity that is disturbing and that we need to address.

The disparity in multiple myeloma is honestly, not only confined to the African American community, we see this in many other vulnerable communities, in particular, the Hispanic community, where we know that the disease is diagnosed at a younger age than we would typically see in the Caucasian community. Also reflective of the healthcare system in our country where many patients of the Hispanic background have less access to healthcare, and this clearly influences outcomes, and so as we study this more and appreciate it more, we come to understand that there are many vulnerable populations by virtue of race, by virtue of insurance status, by virtue of a documented status, all of these things, unfortunately, have a significant impact in a patient’s survival with multiple myeloma. COVID-19 has really affected so many things in the medical community. But thankfully, one of the things that we have not significantly seen, apart from for a period of time, reduced access to clinical trials, we have been able to maintain the supply of our key agents and treatments that we use in multiple myeloma. So I’m very thankful that I have not had to delay or cancel my patients’ treatments by virtue of a supply chain issue, we’re very grateful that that supply chain has pretty well been maintained after out the pandemic, and we trust will continue to be maintained.