CAR T-Cell Therapy for Multiple Myeloma: A Last Hope Success Story

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• Patient Communication and Online Misinformation
• Clinical Story: CAR T-Cell Therapy in Elderly Patient
• A Decade-Long Multiple Myeloma Treatment Journey
• Last-Ditch Effort Leads to Complete Remission
• The Transformative Power of New Myeloma Treatments
• The Critical Role of Clinical Trials in Treatment Access
• Full Transcript

Patient Communication and Online Misinformation

Dr. Nikhil Munshi, MD, addresses a critical aspect of modern patient care. He notes that today's patients are extremely well-read due to vast online information. However, he cautions that the internet also contains significant misinformation. Dr. Nikhil Munshi, MD, explains that negative experiences are often over-reported online. Patients who have good outcomes rarely post about them.

This creates a skewed perception of treatment risks and benefits. His bottom-line message for patients is simple. They should ask their physicians about any concerns. This allows for the resolution of fears based on uncommon or rare online reports.

Clinical Story: CAR T-Cell Therapy in Elderly Patient

Dr. Nikhil Munshi, MD, illustrates the advancements in myeloma treatment with a powerful clinical story. He describes an elderly female patient in her mid to late seventies. This patient had been living with multiple myeloma for a decade. Her story is a testament to the progress in hematologic oncology.

Dr. Munshi uses this case to highlight a significant message about modern therapy. The patient's journey involved participation in successive clinical studies. She benefited from each new treatment option that became available.

A Decade-Long Multiple Myeloma Treatment Journey

The patient managed her higher-risk multiple myeloma for over ten years. Dr. Nikhil Munshi, MD, explains that she received numerous treatments during this time. She actively participated in clinical trials for novel therapies. This approach provided her with continuous benefit and allowed her to live her life.

Her ability to enroll in successive studies was key to her long-term survival. Despite having a more aggressive disease profile, she derived significant benefit from each new line of therapy. This underscores the importance of access to clinical trials for maintaining quality of life.

Last-Ditch Effort Leads to Complete Remission

Dr. Munshi details the turning point in the patient's treatment journey. After approximately ten different treatments, her options were exhausted. CAR T-cell therapy was available only through a clinical study at the time. It represented a true last-ditch effort for her refractory multiple myeloma.

The outcome was remarkable. The therapy led to a complete remission. Her myeloma disappeared entirely. This response occurred in a setting where no other treatments were likely to help. The success demonstrates the potent efficacy of cellular immunotherapy in advanced disease.

The Transformative Power of New Myeloma Treatments

The emotional impact of this success is a central part of the story. Dr. Nikhil Munshi, MD, recalls a poignant moment nine months after her treatment. The patient held his hand and expressed profound gratitude. She thanked him because the treatment allowed her to see her grandson.

This personal milestone would not have been possible without the CAR T-cell therapy. Dr. Nikhil Munshi, MD, emphasizes that this story exemplifies the power of new treatments. It shows where modern myeloma therapy is heading. These advances create meaningful life extensions and precious family moments.

The Critical Role of Clinical Trials in Treatment Access

Dr. Anton Titov, MD, facilitates a discussion on how patients access breakthrough therapies. Dr. Munshi's story highlights that the patient received CAR T-cell therapy on a study. This was before it became commercially available. Clinical trials provide a pathway to cutting-edge treatments not yet widely accessible.

Participation in successive studies allowed this patient to benefit from multiple new agents. For patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, clinical trials can offer a last hope. They are essential for driving the development of powerful new therapies like CAR T-cells.

Full Transcript

Dr. Anton Titov, MD: Are there any questions that patients perhaps should ask more often, and perhaps not many patients do?

Dr. Nikhil Munshi, MD: I think our patients now are extremely well-read. The internet provides them a lot of data and information. What I would say they should ask is anything that concerns them, because there's a lot of misinformation online as well.

What happens is a patient who has a bad experience with something is going to report online; 99 patients who had a good experience may not write anything. When we read, we will only see the bad news.

I think when somebody reads those, they need to bring it up so that their concern is resolved. Quite often, that's a very uncommon occurrence that one doesn't need to be concerned about.

That's my bottom line message for the patient: ask so that your concerns are resolved very soon.

Dr. Anton Titov, MD: Could you please discuss perhaps a clinical story that illustrates some of the topics that we talked about today?

Dr. Nikhil Munshi, MD: There are many clinical stories that one can give. I'll give a story about CAR T-cell therapy.

A patient in her mid to late 70s had multiple myeloma for the last 10 years, getting treatments and benefiting from all the new treatments. She took part in clinical studies, so she was able to take part in successive studies that provided benefit to her, even though her disease was on the higher risk side.

She got benefit and continued to live her life. What makes it an interesting and important story with a message is that eventually she underwent CAR T-cell therapy.

This was on a study before CAR T-cells became available. She got the study when she had 10 different treatments, and CAR T-cell therapy was a last-ditch effort; there was nothing that probably could have helped her at that point.

She went into complete remission; her myeloma disappeared. About nine months after, one time I was walking in my hallway and she called for me.

She held my hand and said, "Thank you so much because of your treatment. Last month, I was able to see my grandson, which without this treatment I would not have been able to see."

That's what tells us about the power of new treatment and where all this is heading.