How did you get involved with the MMRF?   Team Papa JJ was formed nearly two years ago for the 2022 MMRF Walk/Run: Washington, DC. Douglas J.J. Peters, affectionately known as “Papa JJ” by his grandchildren, was a few months into his multiple myeloma diagnosis. Why did you choose to participate in the MMRF […] The post Meet Team Papa JJ In honor of Douglas J.J. Peters, MMRF 2024 Walk/Run: Washington, D.C. Spirit of Hope Honoree appeared first on MMRF ..read more

The MMRF was truly honored and privileged to count Pat Williams among our closest friends and champions. The outpouring of love in honor of Pat’s life of service is genuine and deserved. His passion and vision for basketball was pioneering and his legacy lives on. He displayed a similar level of commitment and compassion to supporting and inspiring countless cancer patients and their loved ones. Pat was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2011 and served on the MMRF’s Board of Directors for several years. We are forever grateful for his service. He will be missed. To learn more about Pat’s life ..read more

WATERTOWN, Mass., July 11, 2024 — Dynamic Cell Therapies (DCT) announces an investment of $1M from the Myeloma Investment Fund (MIF), the venture philanthropy subsidiary of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), to accelerate the development of novel CAR T-cell technologies for patients with multiple myeloma. DCT is developing technology platforms that will allow CAR T-cells to attack unique and differentiated tumor targets that will allow for durable responses to treatment, and DCT’s propriety CAR T-cells have demonstrated superiority to FDA-approved CAR T-cells in animal model ..read more

An IW Myeloma conference update from the MMRF and Myeloma Solutions Fund Remarkable advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) have significantly improved outcomes over the past 30 years. However, there remain certain subtypes of MM – including those patients that harbor t(4;14) translocations – that are at increased risk of relapse and adverse events. Understanding the biology of these high-risk MM subtypes is critical to developing more effective therapies. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation’s (MMRF) CoMMpass study has done more to advance our understanding of the biology of MM ..read more

Jennifer Campbell, Deceased Patient’s Wife Torrance Campbell’s wife, Jennifer learned about the MMRF through her husband. He had met Kathy Giusti sometime before the first MMRF Chicago 5K Walk/Run in 2001. At the very first race Torrance participated with his colleague and friend from Baxter Credit Union (BCU). Torrance Campbell (TC) was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1997. He was just 38 years old. Like so many others, the colleagues didn’t know very much about multiple myeloma when they first heard the news. Nonetheless, BCU employees were determined to do their part to contribute to a ..read more

Welcome to our recap of the latest findings on myeloma treatments reported at the European Hematology Association meeting that kicked off Thursday in Madrid, Spain. Clinicians and researchers gathered to present and discuss several updates in multiple myeloma relating to: Blenrep, an antibody drug conjugate Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies Bispecific antibodies (also known as T-cell engagers) Four-drug combinations for newly diagnosed patients Let us break down the key findings for you… Antibody drug conjugate Blenrep (Belantamab mafodotin) On Thursday, a late-breaking abstra ..read more

Welcome to the final day of coverage from the latest advances on myeloma treatment presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting. Highlights from today featured updates on tocilizumab pretreatment to improve tolerability of the BCMA bispecific antibody Tecvayli (teclistamab), as well as investigational CAR T-cell therapy and maintenance therapy. Here’s a quick recap! Tocilizumab Pretreatment Tocilizumab has proven to be an effective treatment to lessen the impact of cytokine release syndrome (CRS), which presents as flu-like symptoms experienced by most patients who rec ..read more

I was diagnosed with MGUS in June, 1993, but my primary care physician and my first three oncologists all led me to believe that I already had active multiple myeloma. Since I am a retired scientist, I began a continuing quest to educate myself about all things myeloma. That was greatly helped when I joined the North Texas Myeloma Support Group (NTMSG) in April 2004. This support group meets in Dallas monthly with patient sharing and guest speakers. In a very real sense, those support group members became a part of my extended family, and many are now good friends. I am now a technical resour ..read more

Welcome to the second day of our recap of the latest findings on myeloma treatments reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting. Monday featured updates on treatment options for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) patients, including quadruplet therapies, CAR T-cell therapy, and bispecific antibody therapy. Let us break down the key findings for you… Quadruplet Therapies for NDMM Sarclisa (isatuximab) While three-drug induction regimens (that is, those containing a proteasome inhibitor such as Velcade or Kyprolis, an immunomodulatory agent – typically Revlimid, and ..read more

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the immune system. In myeloma, the type of cell that becomes cancerous (i.e. grows out of control) is the plasma cell, which is a type of immune cell that normally creates molecules called antibodies that help protect the body from infection. Your immune system can recognize substances as “foreign” and create antibodies that help your immune system to eliminate them. Similarly, cancer cells can also sometimes be recognized as foreign and killed by your own body’s immune system. But all too often, cancer cells are tricky and evade detection by the immune system ..read more