At the 2023 International Myeloma Society Meeting in Athens, Greece, several myeloma specialists and researchers focused on a common theme: the myeloma patient's immune system. 

Amazing tools have been created to help researchers analyze single cells within a patient's immune system, allowing them to predict response to certain treatments or recovery time. While there is still much research to be done in this field, many researchers agree that there is a clear connection between one's immune system status and the likelihood of successfully responding to immunotherapies. 

Hear and read more about these ground-breaking and exciting studies below: 

What Determines Teclistamab Response? | Ross Firestone, MD, PhD | IMS 2023

Some myeloma patients' immune systems were more optimal than others to get a better teclistimab response. Researchers wanted to know: can you profile a patient's immune system to see if they will respond well to Teclistimab? No BCMA fatigue was reported in this population. 

Immune Profiling and Cellular Therapies | Bruno Paiva, PHD | IMS 2023

There is a great interest in immune profiling to better understand the status of a patient's immune system before, after, and during treatment. This profiling helps determine which patients will have the best responses, the worst outcomes, and how to optimize a patient's response. There is a clear connection between the patient's immune status and what the efficacy of the drug will be. 

Laboratory Assessment of Immune Functioning | Drs. Avigan and Ludwig | IMS 2023

When assessing cells within the immune system, researchers discovered that an increase in certain cell types was associated with a higher likelihood of resistance or shorter progression-free survivals. Individual cells of the immune system can be assessed to study clonal evolution and identify patients with a higher risk of progression, even those with precursor diseases such as MGUS or smoldering myeloma.

Myeloma vaccines are also being studied to assess their effect on the immune cells. The efficacy of these vaccines is being studied with single-cell sequencing to better understand how it's working within myeloma patients. 

Resources

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