On October 12, 2019, a Myeloma Crowd Round Table meeting was held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Emory Conference Center Hotel featuring five myeloma experts, including:

• • Dr. Morie Gertz, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
  • Dr. Craig Hofmeister, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA
  • Dr. Nisha Joseph, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA
  • Dr. Jonathan Kaufman, Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA
  • Dr. Cesar Rodriguez, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC

 

Revisiting the Multiple Myeloma Weeds in the Bone Marrow Garden

 

 

Dr. Morie Gertz explains the complexity of myeloma in a unique analogy and explains how treatment strategies have changed within the past 20 years.

 

Current Standard of Care Myeloma Treatment

 

 

Dr. Nisha Joseph discusses the role of transplantation in treatment and the things to do and avoid for a newly diagnosed patient. She also reviews bacterial infections, shingles, and setting the stage for success.

 

Assessing and Understanding Risk in Myeloma

 

 

Dr. Craig Hofmeister explains standard- and high-risk myeloma, how genetics change with treatment, and fracture risk.

 

Myeloma Expert Panel Q&A – Morning Session

 

 

• 0:08 Is osteoporosis with myeloma common and what is the relationship between the two?
• 2:23 We talked about up front transplant but do you see a role for a second transplant later after maybe several rounds of treatments?
• 2:59 Do you do that second transplant only after first relapse or later down the line?
• 3:20 Should I get shingles vaccinations and flu shots after doing two years of acyclovir?
• 6:23 My husband had 98% myeloma cells at diagnosis. Does that change how he should be treated initially?
• 7:17 When should low-risk patients consider a clinical trial?
• 8:38 Are we getting better at diagnosing myeloma? Are there environmental factors that cause myeloma?
• 11:39 Are there clinical trials about other things myeloma patients can do to improve their health outside of conventional myeloma treatment (e.g. avoid sugar, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or taking tumeric?)
• 15:03 If a patient doesn’t want treatment, what are some of the ways to monitor the disease?
• 16:36 What tests do you use to see if the myeloma is progressing?
• 17:12 Are there myleloma treatments that have a higher chance of cure instead of just putting the disease into remission?
• 19:13 Are there things we can do as patients to promote healing of bone lesions?
• 20:23 Can high doses of the measles vaccine treat myeloma?
• 22:30 Is CAR-T a more promising future therapy?
• 23:09 What causes muscle weakness in the back?
• 25:23 How can you catch myeloma early before developing symptoms?
• 26:55 Couldn’t you catch it early in a blood test looking for myeloma proteins?
• 27:41 Should an SPEP be done during an annual physical?
• 29:01 Can you screen patients using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry? 

 

Myeloma Immunotherapies

 

 

Dr. Cesar Rodriguez helps patients understand immunotherapy, targeted approaches for individual patient chromosome characteristics, and developing immunotherapies such as CAR T, T Cell, and B Cell.

 

Making Sense of Recent and Foreseeable Advances in Multiple Myeloma

 

 

Dr. Jonathan Kaufman discusses the role of monoclonal antibodies in treatment, MRD relevance, and using drug resistance to treat refractory and relapsed disease.

 

Moderated Discussion with Faculty

 

 

 

Myeloma Expert Panel Q&A – Afternoon Session

 

 

• 0:23 If MRD doesn’t always predict who will relapse, are there genetic factors that can tell us who will relapse?
• 3:00 If you are refractory to a myeloma drug is there any chance of you using that drug again successfully? Does having GSK 916 make you ineligible for CAR-T?
• 9:44 How do I use HealthTree to find clinical trials?
• 10:47 Is there any data on using probiotics or food to affect your microbiome and improve your myeloma?
• 14:01 Is Isatuximab effective in someone who becomes refractory to Daratumumab?
• 14:12 Does iberdomide have a different mechanism than Revlimid and Pomalyst?
• 15:08 They need to be used in combination so can they be used in combination with Velcade if you’ve already taken Velcade? 
• 15:25 Can CBD oil help?
• 17:02 Could CBD oil affect my treatments?
• 17:51 Are there any definitive studies showing what can cause myeloma?
• 19:18 I know a lot of marines who have multiple myeloma. Is contamination from exposure to things during service something you’ve looked at?

 

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsor

Thanks to our Myeloma Crowd Round Table Sponsors: Takeda Oncology, GSK, Celgene, Karyopharm and Adaptive Biotechnologies