Dr. Brian Durie on Novel Therapies in Multiple Myeloma

Brian G. M. Durie, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Senior Advisor, Hematologic Malignancies, National Program Director, Multiple Myeloma and Related Disorders for Aptium Oncology, discusses the impact that novel therapies have made for patients with multiple myeloma.

The most important novel therapies for multiple myeloma are separated into two classes: 1) immunomodulatory agents (IMiDs): thalidomide (Thalomid), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and pomalidomide, which Durie hopes will be approved, and 2) proteasome inhibitors: carfilzomib (Kyprolis) and bortezomib (Velcade).

Survival curves for multiple myeloma were in decline for decades, Durie says, are steadily coming up. Today, 56% of patients over 65 are living for five years while 70% of patients under 65 are living for five years. It is because of novel therapies that such significant strides have been made from a time when survival was two to three years.

The question in multiple myeloma is how can the steps towards longer survival be translated into steps towards a cure. Focus remains on patients with good prognosis and improved treatment combinations, Durie says, but there is a need for new therapies in aggressive disease.