Dr. Mikhael on the Advances Made in Multiple Myeloma Treatment

Joseph Mikhael, MD, a professor in the Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery Division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope Cancer Center, and chief medical officer of the International Myeloma Foundation, discusses novel agents used to treat patients with multiple myeloma.

The field of multiple myeloma has undergone many changes over the past few years. Two new classes of drugs have emerged in the treatment arsenal: nuclear export inhibitors such as selinexor (Xpovio) and BCMA-targeted antibody-drug conjugates such as belantamab mafodotin-blmf (Blenrep), says Mikhael.

Multiple myeloma is a disease in which most patients are not achieving cure, adds Mikhael. Almost all patients will become refractory to the main 5 agents that are currently being used to treat this disease: bortezomib (Velcade), lenalidomide (Revlimid), pomalidomide, carfilzomib (Kyprolis), and daratumumab (Kyprolis), Mikhael concludes.