Can Multiple Myeloma Be Cured? MRD Negativity, Stopping Treatment & Confirming Cure | IMS 2026

At the 2026 International Myeloma Society (IMS) meeting, Dr. Mohamad Mohty, professor of hematology at Sorbonne University and Saint-Antoine Hospital in Paris, gives an in-depth explanation of the evolving concept of "cure" in multiple myeloma.

For 20 to 30 years, nearly every scientific paper on multiple myeloma opened with some version of "myeloma is an incurable disease." Dr. Mohty explains how that has changed: newer therapies, including monoclonal antibodies, bispecific T-cell engagers, CAR-T cell therapy, and newer CELMoDs like iberdomide and mezigdomide, are now driving deep responses measured by MRD (measurable residual disease) negativity.

Critically, a single MRD-negative test isn't enough to call someone cured. Dr. Mohty walks through why that negativity needs to be sustained over time, typically confirmed at least 12 months apart, and why the emerging cure definition also requires no evidence of disease on imaging (MRI or PET-CT), not just in the bone marrow, along with successfully stopping treatment altogether. Even then, he's clear that no cure is ever 100%: a small minority of patients may still relapse, the same as with any other cancer where "cure" is an accepted term.

He also discusses which patients are most likely to achieve this: primarily those with standard-risk disease (without high-risk cytogenetic features), who make up the majority of myeloma patients and are seeing the strongest results from today's immune therapies. High-risk patients, whose disease tends to be more aggressive and treatment-resistant, are less likely to reach the same outcomes with current approaches. Dr. Mohty also touches on the quality-of-life benefits of fixed-duration treatment, and closes by distinguishing this new, stricter cure definition from the older, softer concept of "functional cure."

Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction: Dr. Mohamad Mohty at IMS 2026
1:22 How novel therapies are driving deep, MRD-negative responses
2:30 Why MRD negativity must be sustained, not just measured once
3:40 Defining cure: sustained negativity, imaging, and stopping treatment
4:44 Which patients are most likely to achieve cure
6:17 Why cure can only be confirmed after the fact
7:31 Quality of life gains and fixed-duration treatment
7:55 Cure vs. functional cure: what's the difference

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