Rahul Bhargava, Director and Head of Hematology, Hematooncology, and Stem Cell Transplant at Fortis Health Care, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“People often ask me why we use our best drugs upfront in multiple myeloma instead of saving them for later. My answer is simple. Let’s not save treatments for days we don’t want to see.
Relapse may be part of myeloma, but when it happens matters. If relapse has to come, let it come in 2030 or 2032, not earlier. Time matters. Time gives patients options.
By then, three important things are likely to have changed. Newer and potentially curative therapies would have emerged. Today’s powerful drugs would have become more affordable. And the patient’s overall economic and social stability would likely be stronger.
The data supports this approach clearly. The deepest and longest remissions are achieved when we put our best foot forward in the first line. Holding back effective therapies rarely helps patients in the long run.
It is time to move away from the mindset of saving drugs for later. In multiple myeloma, depth of response upfront is not aggression. It is wisdom.
Message
Don’t save your best drugs for the worst days.
Put your best foot forward in the first line.
Because in myeloma, depth of response today decides freedom tomorrow.
Dr Rahul Bhargava Centre of Excellence for Myeloma and Lymphoma.”
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