The San Diego Myeloma Crowd Round Table meeting held on March 7, 2020 featured four myeloma experts:

• Fotis Asimakopolous, MD, PhD, Moores Cancer Center, UCSD
• Jesus Berdeja, MD, Sarah Cannon Research Institute
• Ajai Chari, MD, Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Caitlin Costello, MD, Moores Cancer Center, UCSD

Current Standard of Care

Dr. Caitlin Costello teaches of the standard of care and what patients should be expecting from their caregiver. She also discusses how to choose treatments based on individual factors.

Thinking About the Future

Dr. Ajai Chari discusses the future of myeloma, including new drugs, treatment options, and disease management options that are currently available. He also assesses the potential impact that the new drug Selinexor could have on the myeloma community.
 

Developing Therapeutics Based on Genetics

Dr. Fotis Asimakopolous explains the structure of myeloma, how it attacks the body, where it all "goes wrong", and how treatments attempt to fix the body.

Immunotherapies

Dr. Jesus Berdeja examines how the body's immune system fights myeloma. He also discusses the main targets of immunotherapies, different types of immune cell therapies (CAR-T, TCR, MIL), and new side effects/toxicities.

Myeloma Expert Panel Q&A--Morning Session

• 0:14 Why are some patients viewed as too good, or healthy, for clinical trials?
• 2:28 Who should be making the decision to start a clinical trial?
• 4:56 What other tools are available for understanding the genetics of myeloma?
• 14:33 Is there a possibility of myeloma being hereditable and not just in the genetics of the patient?
• 20:23 What does it mean for a relapse if I have three plasma cytomas i.e. myeloma and have been on Revlimid for 6 and a half years?
• 23:53 Post transplant, is it still recommended to have a three drug combination for maintenance therapy or is one drug sufficient?
• 26:53 For someone who is newly diagnosed and is about to start treatment, what are your opinions on complementary or more holistic medications?
• 29:26 What supplements can I use to help my immune system fight myeloma?
• 33:20 Can you talk more about those that are getting cured?
• 36:11 Have there been any studies or surveys with a respective root cause to myeloma?
• 40:43 If I was accepted for a clinical trial and the drugs work for me but the trial ends, is there any obligation from the trial company to continue to supply me with that medication?
• 41:36 If I do a CAR-T cell study now and my myeloma recurs, do I have eligibility to do the next latest and greatest CAR-T cell study?

Myeloma Expert Panel--Moderated Discussion 1

In this moderated discussion, all four of our experts answer the following questions about myeloma genetics:

• 0:17 What are genetics and genomics and what are the differences and similarities between the two?
• 3:35 Today, patients are classified with standard-risk myeloma and high-risk myeloma. What do those terms mean and how should patients think about those terms?
• 10:59 How is the viewing of plasma cells so easily done?
• 12:33 What does FISH stand for?
• 12:43 How do the genetics of the disease change within an individual over the course of their disease?

Myeloma Expert Panel--Moderated Discussion 2

In this moderated discussion, our four experts answer the following questions about MRD testing and the future of myeloma:

• 0:14 What is Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) and how should we as patients think about it, and how do you as doctors think about it?
• 16:18 When testing using mass spectrometry, is there a cell count that means you need to start treatment?
• 17:57 How do you see yourselves using the recently approved Selinexor and Isatuximab in the clinic?

Myeloma Expert Panel Q&A--Afternoon Session

• 0:15 Should I have Revlimid maintentance as a single agent, and for how long? What is the risk of a secondary malignancy while taking the drug?
• 5:53 Why do CAR-T myeloma patients not have a durable response to the treatment?
• 13:44 Can we still use an M-spike to evaluate my response to therapy even after I dropped Velcade and replaced it with Daratumumab?
• 14:06 How many transplants can I have over one lifetime and is it worth it compared to using other drugs?
• 17:30 Is it easier to collect stem cells after being on Revlimid for a number of years?
• 17:50 If I have had smoldering myeloma for multiple years, what does that mean?
• 19:32 How do we determine today if my smoldering myeloma is high-risk and will require treatment?
• 22:54 When do we restart treatment for relapse and are there any particular markers that you follow?

Thanks to our Round Table sponsors

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