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Multiple Myeloma News

Oct. 8, 2024 — A new tool detects the evolutionary advantages of multiple myeloma cells over the different treatments available. The information it provides can help prevent the tumor from becoming resistant to ...

Dec. 11, 2022 — A new therapy that makes the immune system kill bone marrow cancer cells was successful in as many as 73 percent of patients in two clinical ...

Nov. 4, 2022 — Researchers have identified therapies that can help patients with the blood cancer multiple myeloma who try an immunotherapy known as CAR-T only to find their cancer coming back ...

Sep. 6, 2022 — New CT technology paired with artificial intelligence (AI)-based noise reduction offers superior detection of bone disease associated with multiple myeloma at lower radiation doses than conventional ...

Sep. 1, 2022 — Researchers have published results that show encouraging therapeutic options for patients with the blood cancer multiple myeloma after first-line treatment with bispecific antibodies fails. ...

June 5, 2022 — Patients with multiple myeloma who have been treated with a three-drug combination therapy have a growing number of choices for subsequent treatment. Results of a new study can help patients and ...

May 19, 2022 — A test for the common blood cancer multiple myeloma also holds clear clues that the patient has one of the most uncommon and deadly forms of this cancer, investigators ...

Apr. 7, 2022 — Chromosomal abnormalities are found in most multiple myeloma (MM) patients. While myeloma patients have generally benefited from the advancement of treatment modalities over the years, the treatment ...

Apr. 6, 2022 — Most immunocompromised people with a blood cancer called multiple myeloma benefited from a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines, a promising sign after it was shown that two doses tended to not be ...

Mar. 1, 2022 — Multiple myeloma, the most common type of bone marrow cancer in Germany, almost always returns, even after initial treatment success. In the majority of cases, the reasons behind this treatment ...

Jan. 12, 2022 — Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow, with a life expectancy of less than 5 years post-diagnosis. Proteasome inhibitors, the therapeutic backbone of current treatments, are very effective ...

Epigenetic Test May Predict Immunotherapy Success In Multiple Myeloma

Researchers have made a significant discovery that could one day help tailor immunotherapy treatments for patients with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. The findings suggest that an epigenetic test could predict which patients will respond best to these therapies. 

The study focused on the PVR gene, a key regulator of the immune system. A subgroup of patients was found to have hypermethylation in this gene, which reduces its expression and makes myeloma cells more vulnerable to immunotherapy. This epigenetic change could offer a new target for treatments and serve as a marker for personalized treatment plans. 

Researchers from the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute analysed data from 776 patients and discovered that those with lower PVR gene expression tended to live longer. Laboratory tests confirmed the immune system's enhanced effectiveness against tumor cells when the PVR gene was eliminated, using various immunotherapies such as T-lymphocytes, CAR-T, and CAR-NK cells. 

Professor Manel Esteller, the study's lead researcher, emphasized that their results highlight the importance of targeting the PVR gene in improving immunotherapy outcomes. He called on the pharmaceutical industry and clinical researchers to further develop this approach for practical use in patient care. 

This breakthrough could lead to more personalized and effective treatments for multiple myeloma, improving survival rates and quality of life for patients. 

Helena Bradbury, EMJ 

 

Reference 

Martinez-Verbo L et al. PVR (CD155) epigenetic status mediates immunotherapy response in multiple myeloma. Leukemia. 2024. 

 

Carvykti, Abecma Move Earlier In Multiple Myeloma Treatment

Johnson & Johnson and Legend Biotech's BCMA-targeted CAR-T therapy Carvykti has been approved by the FDA to treat patients with multiple myeloma after at least one prior therapy.

The decision came right after the US regulator also cleared Bristol-Myers Squibb and 2seventy bio's rival CAR-T Abecma as a third-line therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, moving the cell therapies much earlier in the treatment pathway from their current fifth-line use.

Carvykti (ciltacabtagene autoleucel) can now be used after first relapse in patients who have been previously treated with a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory agent (IMiD) and are refractory to lenalidomide.

The approval is based on the CARTITUDE-4 study, in which the CAR-T was shown to reduce the risk of disease progression or death by 59% compared to standard therapies in patients previously treated with one to three prior lines of therapy.

According to Binod Dhakal of the Medical College of Wisconsin, one of the study investigators, the approval gives patients the opportunity for a treatment-free period for their multiple myeloma as early as first relapse.

That gives hope of "eliminating the burden of having to be on continuous treatment while living with this challenging disease," he said.

Abecma, meanwhile, can now be used after two or more prior lines of therapy – including an IMiD, a PI, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody – based on results from the KarMMa-3 trial, which showed that it reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 51%.

Both CAR-Ts have warnings on their labels related to an increase in deaths compared to standard treatment in their pivotal studies, as well as a risk for secondary blood cancers in line with an FDA review of the safety of the entire CAR-T class earlier this year.

More than 35,000 estimated new cases of the incurable blood cancer will be diagnosed in 2024 in the US, according to estimates. The fifth-line treatment population is thought to number around 5,000, so both new indications will expand the number of patients eligible for treatment with CAR-T therapy.

Sales of Carvykti were $500 million last year, compared to $472 million for Abecma, and both have been tipped to reach multibillion-dollar sales levels with the expanded indications.

However, the cell therapies – which require an involved therapeutic process that involves harvesting, modifying, and re-infusing cells – are likely to face serious competition from off-the-shelf alternatives, like BCMA-targeting bispecific antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates.

Those include J&J's Tecvayli (teclistamab) and Pfizer's Elrexfio (elranatamab) – two BCMAxCD3 bispecifics already approved for later-line use, but in testing to move forward in the treatment pathway – as well as GSK's ADC Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin), which was withdrawn from sale in the US, but has bounced back with new second-line data.

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