Nikoletta Lendvai, MD, PhD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Interview Date: October 28, 2016 

 Why should patients participate in clinical trials and is it ever too late to join one? Dr. Lendvai tells us that every stage is a good time to consider clinical trials, but when you've run out of options isn't one of them. She shares insight into the details of joining clinical trials (like who pays) and discusses the new drug in clinical trial - selinexor - as an example. This drugs is now being used to help patients who have become refractory to proteasome inhibitors like Velcade and iMiDs like Revlimid. In early studies, it looks like this drug can make many patients sensitive again to these prior treatment options. Dr. Lendvai shares clinical trials open at MSKCC for newly diagnosed patients, smoldering myeloma patients, clinical trials for transplants and for relapsed/refractory patients. It is very clear that going to an academic myeloma center gives patients a large number of options to take advantage of newer treatments that have not yet been approved.

Thanks to our episode sponsor