MCRT Review: St Louis, Missouri – March 10, 2018

On March 10, 2018, a Myeloma Crowd Round Table meeting was held in St. Louis, Missouri featuring six myeloma experts, including:

• Dr. Gareth Morgan, University of Arkansas Myeloma Institute, Little Rock, AR
• Dr. Brian Van Ness, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
• Dr. Jens Hillengass, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY
• Dr. Ravi Vij, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
• Dr. Keith-Stockerl-Goldstein, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
• Dr. Samuel Achilefu, Center for Multiple Myeloma Nanotechnology

Ravi Vij, MD: Understanding Multiple Myeloma

Dr. Ravi Vij gives an excellent general overview about the development, diagnosis and and treatment of multiple myeloma, as well as sharing his thoughts on future developments in disease treatment. From MGUS and Smoldering myeloma to multiple myeloma therapy, transplant, and relapse, what is the general path of treatment currently and where we are heading in the future?

Brian Van Ness, PhD: Multiple Myeloma Genetics

Dr. Van Ness teaches the basics of multiple myeloma genetics. What is a translocation, a deletion, and hyperdiploidy? How do these affect your disease’s response to drugs? Can we predict ahead of time how our myeloma will respond to treatment?

Gareth Morgan, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, PhD: Personalized Treatment in Multiple Myeloma

Dr. Morgan believes that multiple myeloma may not be as complicated as we think, but we’re not clever enough to see the simplicity of the disease yet. Dr. Morgan speaks about the role of genetics and other factors that play a role in determining treatment response in multiple myeloma, and about new techniques to help find the optimal treatment for each patient.

Jens Hillengass, MD: Multiple Myeloma Imaging for Treatment and Research

Dr. Hillengass speaks about different imaging techniques influence treatment of multiple myeloma, and how new imaging research is moving into clinical practice.

Gareth Morgan, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, PhD: Maximizing Multiple Myeloma Response Rates

Dr. Morgan talks about options for treatment, the treatment process, the effective use of new drugs, and the benefits of transplants.

Keith-Stockerl-Goldstein, MD: Multiple Myeloma Treatment and Immunotherapy

Dr. Stockerl-Goldstein talks about the essentials of myeloma therapy, from what to expect during treatment to how to communicate with your doctor, and teaches about the basics of the new immunotherapies coming out in multiple myeloma treatment.

Samuel Achilefu, PhD: Multiple Myeloma and Science Fiction

Dr. Achilefu talks about the causes and challenges of cancer, and explains some future methods of treatment (like nanotherapy) and imaging that will soon be brought from bench to bedside for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Expert Panel Q&A: Multiple Myeloma (Morning Session)

Multiple Myeloma experts Ravi Vij, MD, Brian Van Ness, PhD and Gareth Morgan, MD, PhD answer questions from the audience during the morning session of the Myeloma Crowd Round Table in St. Louis. Topics covered include:

• 11:09 Why won’t my doctor tell me my stage of myeloma?
• 1:38 Is genetics testing covered by insurance/medicare?
• 2:01 What are the steps to receiving more personalized care?
• 4:47 I’m MRD negative on maintenance therapy. Should I look for signs of relapse before I change my treatment plan?
• 5:49 Where is genetics testing available and when is it appropriate to do these tests?
• 9:12 5 years into my treatment, is there any value in genetic testing or a PET scan?
• 10:14 Can other cancers like lymphoma become multiple myeloma?
• 11:15 How does somebody go about getting onto a CAR-T Cell clinical trial?
• 12:07 Is there any research into what the underlying causes of multiple myeloma are? (e.g. why translocations and deletions occur?)
• 14:45 Is myeloma heritable? Should we screen family members?
• 15:07 What causes the genetic mutations that lead to myeloma? Is it environmental?
• 17:22 Is there research on multiple myeloma in veterans and possible causes of the disease?
• 18:55 Why are certain populations (African Americans and certain groups of Jews) more at risk for multiple myeloma?
• 20:50 Are there future therapies that could repair the myeloma cells? (CRISPR, big data, etc.)
• 25:16 What’s the difference between MGUS and smoldering myeloma and when should either be treated?

Expert Panel Q&A: Multiple Myeloma (Afternoon Session)

Multiple Myeloma experts Jens Hillengass MD, Gareth Morgan MD PhD, Keith Stockerl-Goldstein MD and Samuel Achilefu PhD answer questions from the audience during the afternoon session of the Myeloma Crowd Round Table in St. Louis. Topics covered include:

• 0:11 VLA-4 is a non-specific marker (not limited to plasma cells) so how does it work when it’s non-specific?
• 1:09 Is light therapy used to deliver a specific drug to the cancer cell?
• 3:06 Is there any research on natural treatments that may help multiple myeloma?
• 6:27 If funding studies is a problem, how can we as patients affect change? (e.g. government, insurance, research)

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