Nurse Suggests Questions to Ask Before Carvykti Treatment for Myeloma

The “most scary thing” for patients with pretreated multiple myeloma may be not knowing what their next treatment option is, or if their current therapy is going to work, according to Ishmael Applewhite, a registered nurse from the University of Rochester.

Before starting a new therapy such as Carvykti (ciltacabtageneautoleucel; cilta-cel), Applewhite said patients should feel confident asking their health care providers about what the treatment process will look like, and what the potential next lines of treatment may be.

READ MORE: Carvykti Provides Good Long-Term Quality of Life in Pretreated Myeloma

At the 49th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Annual Congress, Applewhite and colleagues presented the efficacy and side effects of Carvykti in the as-treated population in the CARTITUDE-4 trial that led to the drug’s April 8 approval. He sat down with CURE® ahead of the event to discuss what patients need to know about this new CAR-T cell therapy.

Transcript:

A patient who has had multiple therapies for myeloma may be their biggest advocate at that point. They may know the game inside and out. However, they always need to ask questions.

If they are at a point where they're thinking, ‘this is the last thing that I can do,’ [they should know] that's not always true. They don't need to make a rash decision. There are so many implications and decisions that need to be made. They're always in the driver's seat. And this is another option for them to take them on their trip.

But what does it mean to get [Carvykti]? How long do you have to wait? What happens while I'm waiting for those cells? What happens in the engineering lab may take time. It doesn't work for every patient as well. So what are your options outside of that? Or if it does delay me? What happens next?

The most scary thing that happens for a patient is not knowing what their next treatment is, or if it isn't going to [work], what happens next? So just always being a champion for having a conversation with your provider or your nurse or anyone. [Ask] ‘What does this mean for my life? And how are we going to navigate it?’ is the most important thing a patient can ask. [They should] always feel comfortable receiving that information from us.

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