 Presented by: Erinn Goldman, PhD
Sponsored by Pfizer
Dr. Erinn Goldman, Ph.D., Global Medical Director, Multiple Myeloma at Pfizer, shared information on promising new therapies for treating multiple myeloma. She explained that there are treatments available for versions of the white blood cancer that tends to recur.
She shared information about the patients in the study that led to developing new treatment options. “The patients in our study had already had at least four other therapies, and those therapies had failed them,” she explained. These severe cases are a priority for Pfizer. “We try to go to the area of the highest unmet need,” said Goldman.
How far have multiple myeloma treatment options come?
Dr. Goldman explained the limited options for patients facing multiple myeloma in previous eras. “When you look back in the 1960s, if you were diagnosed with multiple myeloma, the only thing that was available to treat it was melphalan, which is a chemo, a standard chemotherapy drug, and prednisone, which is a steroid,” she said. Not only were the negative side effects of these treatments overwhelming, they were not very effective.
“Outcomes were not very good. So if you were diagnosed with multiple myeloma, most likely within a year or so, you would not survive,” she continued.
What are some of the multiple myeloma treatment options available?
ELREXFIO is an injection that is “typically given in the stomach area.” It provides the patient with a targeted immunotherapy. “It uses your body’s immune system to fight cancer,” explained the doctor. She noted that, unlike other development options, ELREXFIO is widely available.
What is the current status of multiple myeloma research?
Dr. Goldman shared that the research on this version of cancer is moving swiftly. “There are a lot of treatments now available for multiple myeloma, and you can see that most of these became available in the past ten to twenty years and, in fact, many of them in the past five years,” she said. “This is an area of research that’s developing quickly.” The evolution of treatments expands the information that patients can review before deciding on a course of treatment with their healthcare provider.
Research has led to more effective therapies. “With all of the new treatments. Those outcomes are getting better and better and better. So now we have groups of patients in patient advocacy groups who have lived with this disease for twenty years or more,” continued Dr. Goldman.
How are the current multiple myeloma therapies different?
Dr. Goldman explained how the current options differ from the original treatments. “The more recent therapies are more targeted therapies,” she clarified. According to the doctor, previous therapies were designed to halt growth in any cells, including those residing in healthy organs and tissue. These could not be designed to focus directly on the patient’s problem areas.
“These new therapies are attacking specific things in the myeloma cell,” she said. The new treatments are not without undesirable issues like hypertension or inflammation, but they offer much more effective treatment. “Of course, every drug has side effects, but these drugs can work better because they’re more targeted toward the cancer versus other cells,” continued the doctor. Take Action! The session offered tips for understanding the nature of multiple myeloma.
How You Can Take Action!
The session offered tips for understanding the nature of multiple myeloma. ? Find out which therapy is right for you. Ask your doctor if you are eligible for some new therapies.
- Research the nature of your illness. Learn what the symptoms are and what the potential side effects of treatment can be.
- Acquire an understanding of what therapies are actually available and what is coming down the pipeline.
