New Treatment Regimens Used to Provide Maximum Benefit in Multiple Myeloma

Shaji K. Kumar, MD, professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the impact of newer treatment regimens for patients with multiple myeloma and his key takeaways from the current landscape.

There’s been a lot of progress in the field of multiple myeloma, and many new agents have been introduced, but the management of these patients will need to shift to include these combination regimens.

Kumar says we want combination regimens that can provide the maximum depth of response or the best response with frontline therapy so that transplant can be used as needed, along with supportive care. In the first relapse, patients are often in good shape to tolerate highly active regimens, which helps in maximizing the impact of the first relapse therapy. The goal is to determine what regimen can be used at a given point that is likely to give the maximum benefit and the least toxicity.