Henry Fung, Chair and Professor, Department of Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy at Fox Chase Cancer Center, shared on X, quoting to Myeloma Society’s post:
“What does GEM2014MAIN’s LTFU actually tell us?
- Were 20% cured after two years of maintenance? No.
- Is MRD-directed discontinuation now becoming standard? No.
Among 165 patients who were MRD-negative after two years and stopped maintenance, 84-approximately 50%-remained alive and progression-free at long-term follow-up.
Encouraging-but those 84 patients represented only approximately 18–20% of the original cohort. This does not mean myeloma is ‘cured after two years.’ It means a minority achieved durable, treatment-free disease control. Cepheus provides an important counterpoint:
with continued D-Rd, MRD negativity continued to deepen beyond two years, MRD loss was less frequent, and among patients who lost MRD negativity, fewer subsequently progressed.
These were different populations, treatments and trial designs, so there is no direct comparison. The clinical takeaway is that MRD is strongly prognostic and may help identify candidates for treatment discontinuation-but GEM2014MAIN did not prove that MRD-guided stopping is safe, superior to fixed-duration therapy or ready to become standard practice.
The challenge remains determining who can safely remain treatment-free-and who benefits from continued immune control.”
Myeloma Society shared on X:
“Marc Raab, discussed cure in the context of the GEM14MAIN and MajesTEC-5 data shared during IMS26. He also summarized studies on improving CAR-T safety and monitoring/managing bone disease during the Highlights session. ”
You can also read ‘Highlighting MPE’s New Tool for Early Myeloma Detection – European Cancer Organisation‘
