Dr Lee on the Role of CoMMit Meetings as Collaborative Forums Shaping Myeloma Research

“The CoMMit consortium is a special group of myeloma investigators across the country that have devoted their lives to research for multiple myeloma, improving outcomes for patients with this disease. [This meeting] was a robust discussion about [exciting] new ideas and concepts.”

Hans Lee, MD, director of Myeloma Research at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, reflected on the role of the CoMMit consortium on the future of multiple myeloma research.

According to Lee, CoMMit brings together a focused group of myeloma investigators from across the United States who have dedicated their careers to improving outcomes for patients with this disease. CoMMit meetings are intentionally structured to foster in-depth scientific dialogue, critical evaluation of emerging data, and the generation of forward-looking research concepts, Lee said. He emphasized that discussions at the OncLive^® and CoMMit workshop held during the 2025 ASH Annual Meeting were strongly informed by advances presented at ASH 2025, which highlighted continued progress across multiple therapeutic modalities in myeloma. These data served as a catalyst for broader conversations around how to refine existing approaches and accelerate the development of next-generation strategies, he explained. Beyond reviewing results, participants focused on translating new insights into actionable trial concepts that could meaningfully reduce disease burden and improve long-term outcomes, he contextualized.

A central theme of CoMMit, Lee noted, is its emphasis on innovative and patient-centric clinical trial design. Investigators actively challenge traditional development pathways by considering adaptive designs, biomarker-driven strategies, and combinations that are informed by disease biology rather than treatment sequencing alone, he continued. The goal is not incremental improvement, but rather the identification of approaches that could fundamentally alter the natural history of myeloma, he reported. This includes designing studies that minimize cumulative toxicity, shorten treatment duration where possible, and prioritize durable disease control, he stated.

Lee highlighted that the collaborative structure of CoMMit is critical to its effectiveness. By bringing together investigators with complementary expertise—spanning translational science, early-phase development, and late-stage clinical trials—the group rapidly refines ideas and moves efficiently from concept to protocol, he added. This environment allows promising hypotheses to be stress-tested by experienced clinicians and researchers before being operationalized in multicenter studies, he said. Strong leadership was also identified as a key driver of CoMMit’s productivity. Lee credited Luciano Costa, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, with providing strategic direction of the consortium and maintaining momentum across initiatives, ensuring that high-priority concepts progress without unnecessary delay.