Good morning, myeloma world.

As we were finalizing today's edition of Myeloma Morning, we were suddenly reminded of how inter­na­tional the field of multiple myeloma research truly is.

The first research study we review below is by a team of German researchers. We also discuss two studies by Korean researchers, and a topic sparked by a report written by Chinese researchers. At the end of today's report, the list of new myeloma research articles also in­cludes publications by investigators in India, Israel, Italy, and the United States.

As we …

There was an im­por­tant multiple myeloma-related presentation this Monday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago.

The presentation summarized early results of a pilot clin­i­cal trial being conducted at the University of Pennsylvania. The trial, which is scheduled to enroll 10 re­lapsed myeloma patients, is testing a promising ap­proach to cancer treat­ment known as “chimeric an­ti­gen re­cep­tor” (CAR) T-cell ther­apy.

CAR T-cell ther­apy has generated impressive results when used to treat certain kinds of leukemia and lym­phoma. These results have led to a concerted effort to use …

The 51st annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) started earlier to­day, May 29, and will go through June 2 in Chicago.

Approximately 30,000 physicians and re­searchers from all over the world are ex­pec­ted to attend the five-day meeting to discuss cur­rent re­search in cancer treat­ment and care.

During the meeting, there will be pre­sen­ta­tions about all types of cancer, in­clud­ing many pre­sen­ta­tions focused spe­cif­i­cally on mul­ti­ple myeloma. In fact, more than 90 myeloma-related stud­ies are scheduled to be pre­sented, in one form or another, in con­nec­tion with the …

The 2014 International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) Annual Summit took place in Milan, Italy on June 9 and 10.

The summit is a special meeting organized by the International Myeloma Foun­da­tion in which leading myeloma researchers get to brainstorm col­lectively about the most pressing issues in the field, find ways to col­lab­o­rate, and plan future laboratory and clinical studies.

The IMWG summit is hailed by most attendees as the most important meeting for myeloma researchers worldwide. It is a unique opportunity for investigators in the field to engage in lively debate but, …

As The Beacon continues its ‘ASH Preview’ series about myeloma re­search that will be presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in early December, this article focuses on novel im­muno­therapy approaches that are being studied in clinical trials.

Abstracts for the ASH presentations are now available, although many contain pre­lim­i­nary information that will be updated at the meet­ing.

The Beacon’s ASH preview articles are intended to highlight the meet­ing’s most interesting myeloma-related studies.

The first several of the preview articles, which were published over the past …

Findings from a recent Phase 2 clinical study of a multiple myeloma vaccine indicate that the vaccine deepens responses following autologous stem cell transplantation.

Almost half of the patients in the trial achieved a complete response and almost another third achieved a very good partial response after vaccination.

The investigators state that these response rates compare favorably to initial therapy with Revlimid (lenalidomide) or Velcade (bortezomib) followed by stem cell transplantation.

Based on their results, the researchers believe the vaccine used in this trial may be beneficial for …

In a recent review article pub­lished in the journal Clinical Cancer Re­search, two myeloma experts from the Dana-Farber Cancer In­sti­tute, Dr. Nikhil Munshi and Dr. Kenneth Anderson, review the latest strategies in the treat­ment of mul­ti­ple myeloma.

In their article, the experts discuss newer ther­a­pies that appear to be promising in clin­i­cal and pre­clin­i­cal stud­ies.

According to the physicians, com­bi­na­tion ther­a­pies that spe­cif­i­cally target a patient’s ge­netic form of the dis­ease will be re­quired for long-term dis­ease con­trol and ultimately a cure.

Some Historical Perspective

In their review article, Drs. Munshi and …