Latest Content

Aligning Treatment Goals: Key Considerations for Patients and Caregivers in Late-Line RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:45pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how quality of life priorities shift in late-line multiple myeloma treatment, with patients emphasizing the importance of maintaining independence in daily activities, preserving cognitive function, managing pain effectively, minimizing treatment-related side effects that impact social engagement, balancing treatment schedules to allow for meaningful family time and personal milestones and finding psychological peace through spirituality or support systems—ultimately revealing that while disease control remains critical, the ability to live with purpose and dignity increasingly shapes treatment decisions as patients progress through multiple therapy lines.

Balancing Efficacy and Quality of Life in Late-Line RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:42pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how balancing treatment effectiveness with quality of life in late-line multiple myeloma therapy requires a highly personalized approach, with patients and physicians collaboratively weighing factors such as potential for deeper or longer remissions against toxicity profiles, treatment logistics (inpatient vs. outpatient administration), impact on daily activities, financial toxicity, caregiver burden and individual patient goals, with many emphasizing that this calculus shifts as patients progress through treatment lines—often prioritizing aggressive approaches earlier while placing greater emphasis on maintaining functionality and meaningful life experiences in later treatment stages.

Balancing Benefits and Risks: Patients’ Experiences With Newer Therapies and Side Effects in Late-Line RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:40pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how physician-patient conversations about newer multiple myeloma therapies have evolved to include detailed discussions of potential benefits (higher response rates, novel mechanisms of action) alongside unique toxicity profiles (cytokine release syndrome with immunotherapies, neurotoxicity with CAR-T, skin/nail issues with GPRC5D-targeted agents), with patients sharing diverse experiences ranging from minimal side effects to significant complications that required hospitalization, emphasizing the importance of thorough preparation, proactive management strategies and realistic expectations when embarking on these innovative but potent treatment approaches.

Recent Updates in CAR-T Cell Therapy and Their Impact in Clinical Practice in RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:38pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel) demonstrates superior outcomes compared to real-world physician’s choice of therapy in patients with late-line relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), with significantly higher response rates, deeper remissions, longer progression-free survival and potentially improved overall survival, though they acknowledge the challenges of cross-trial comparisons and emphasize the importance of considering patient-specific factors such as fitness, prior therapy exposure and treatment goals when weighing this one-time cellular therapy against sequential conventional approaches.

Recent Updates in Bispecifics and Their Use in Clinical Practice

March 24th 2025, 8:30pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how recent clinical trials have demonstrated promising outcomes in late-line relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) with bispecific antibodies targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) (teclistamab, talquetamab) and GPRC5D showing overall response rates of 60% to -70% even in heavily pretreated patients, while CAR-T cell therapies like ciltacabtagene autoleucel and idecabtagene vicleucel have produced deep responses with median progression-free survival extending beyond one year in some studies, and emerging combination approaches of these novel agents with traditional therapies are showing potential to overcome resistance mechanisms and improve durability of response.

Managing Treatment Logistics: Navigating Travel, Lodging and Caregiver Support

March 24th 2025, 8:24pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how managing the logistics of multiple myeloma treatment often requires a comprehensive support network, with patients describing complex arrangements for travel to specialized cancer centers, securing temporary lodging near treatment facilities, coordinating caregiver schedules to ensure continual support during intensive therapy periods, navigating insurance and financial assistance programs, and utilizing hospital social workers, patient advocacy organizations and online communities to access resources that ease the burden of treatment-related logistics.

Practical Considerations for Therapies Considered by the Patient and Caregivers in RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:19pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how patients and caregivers considering late-line multiple myeloma therapies must navigate practical considerations including lengthy hospital stays for CAR-T cell therapy (typically two to four weeks), insurance approval challenges, travel to specialized treatment centers, the potential need for caregivers to take extended leave from work, management of posttreatment monitoring requirements, eligibility criteria related to organ function and performance status and planning for potential complications such as cytokine release syndrome or neurological toxicities that might require urgent care access.

Patient’s Experience in Shared Decision Making in RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:16pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how patient involvement in multiple myeloma treatment decisions has evolved from a physician-directed approach to a collaborative partnership, with many patients now actively participating through researching options, joining support groups, asking questions about efficacy and side effects, and working with their health care team to balance quality of life considerations with treatment goals, though the degree of engagement varies based on patient preference, health literacy and physician communication style.

Clinical Factors Evaluated When Choosing Treatment in Late-Line RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:11pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how treatment selection for late-line relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) balances multiple factors including patient fitness, prior therapy exposure, disease aggressiveness, side effect profiles, logistical considerations (with CAR-T requiring hospitalization while bispecifics can often be administered outpatient), financial accessibility and unique toxicity considerations (such as GPRC5D-targeting therapies affecting the skin and nails versus B-cell maturation antigen [BCMA]–targeting approaches), ultimately requiring a personalized approach weighing effectiveness against practical constraints on a patient-by-patient basis.

Current Treatment Landscape for Late-Line RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:08pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how the current treatment landscape for patients with late-line relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) involves novel approaches such as bispecific antibodies, CAR-T cell therapies, antibody-drug conjugates and clinical trials of emerging agents, with treatment selection highly individualized based on prior therapies, resistance patterns and patient-specific factors like comorbidities, quality of life considerations and treatment goals.

Linda’s Treatment History and Challenges in Coping With Multiple Relapses

March 24th 2025, 8:05pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how multiple myeloma patients often navigate through numerous treatment regimens over their disease course, frequently cycling through five to 10 different therapeutic approaches since diagnosis, with the greatest challenges being management of cumulative side effects, emotional fatigue from repeated relapses and maintaining hope while facing increasingly limited options as they progress to late-line therapy.

Challenges in Managing Late-Line RRMM

March 24th 2025, 8:03pm

By Saad Usmani, MD

Video

Panelists discuss how the term “late-line” emerged organically in clinical practice to describe patients who had exhausted multiple treatment options, with most experts recalling its growing usage over the past decade as novel therapies expanded the treatment landscape and created a need to distinguish between patients with early and more heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (R/R MM).

Dr. Sheri Prentiss on Steps for Lymphedema Screening in Breast Cancer

March 24th 2025, 8:00pm

By Dr. Sheri Prentiss

Video

Dr. Sheri Prentiss discusses what steps patients can take to ensure they're being screened for lymphedema prior to starting their breast cancer treatment.

First Patient Dosed in Phase 3 Trial of IBI354 for Ovarian Cancer

March 24th 2025, 7:00pm

By Spencer Feldman

Article

The first patient was dosed in a phase 3 trial of IBI354 for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer with HER2 expression.

How Hope Erased My Fear of Testicular Cancer

March 24th 2025, 5:09pm

By Brian Sluga

Article

Hope helped me navigate my testicular cancer diagnosis at 20, shaping my resilience and guiding my journey as a survivor.