The 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH) took place on 7-10 December in Orlando, Florida. It was attended by over 30,000 scientists and clinicians from around the world and covered around 6,000 topics with over 700 myeloma abstracts. Here are some of our highlights from this year’s meeting. Myeloma XI There were five…
The 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH) took place on 7-10 December in Orlando, Florida. Our Director of Research Sarah McDonald and Director of Healthcare Advocacy Services Ira Laketic-Ljubojevic attended to learn about the latest myeloma research and see the progress from Myeloma UK funded research. Results from research part-funded by Myeloma UK, the…
The way evidence is used to approve new treatments for use on the NHS is set to change, under a review being carried out by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The review of methods, running throughout 2020, is an opportunity to address some of the challenges in approving treatments: for example, ensuring…
In October, Myeloma UK launched two new initiatives to explore different ways to support younger myeloma patients, carers and family members who are still in work. The first of these initiatives was a pilot extension of the Myeloma Infoline Service to include Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm. The Myeloma UK Infoline (08009803332) is a…
The annual Scottish Cancer Conference was held in Glasgow on 18 November 2019. It was a unique gathering of organisations involved with cancer, including patients, pharmaceutical companies, clinicians and charities. It presented an opportunity to share, learn and network, as well as understand the latest developments in Scotland’s combined efforts to beat cancer. This year…
This month Myeloma UK welcomed Sarah McDonald as our new Director of Research. In her new role, Sarah will be responsible for both the patient advocacy and research teams. She will play a key role in advancing our patient advocacy work and health services, translational, and clinical research programmes to strengthen the impact of Myeloma…
Serious infection is one of the largest contributors to early mortality in myeloma. The use of antibiotic prophylaxis for newly diagnosed patients starting treatment offers an opportunity to tackle this early complication however the potential for antibiotic resistance, side effects and healthcare associated infections needs to be carefully considered. Last month Prof Mark Drayson, Consultant…
New recommendations from the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) on the use of imaging methods in monoclonal plasma cell disorders were recently published in The Lancet Oncology. (1) Overall, the guidelines recommend that more sensitive imaging techniques, such as whole-body CT and MRI, be introduced generally into clinical practices for the diagnosis and management of…
The 2nd Oxford Myeloma Workshop was a two-day event (1-2 August 2019) run by Oxford University Hospitals which focused on the current translational research priorities in myeloma. Patient Advocacy and Policy Research Officer, Dr Amy Capper was there to learn about the latest developments. Here are some of her highlights from the programme: Opening the…
Results from two phase III clinical trials (MAIA and CASSOPIEA) evaluating daratumumab (Darzalex®) combinations for the treatment of newly diagnosed myeloma patients have been recently published. The data provide evidence to support the use of daratumumab for the treatment of newly diagnosed myeloma patients whether they are eligible for high dose therapy and stem cell…
