Il multiple myeloma is a blood cancer that originates in the bone marrow. The availability of new drugs has changed the therapeutic approach of this disease. «Thanks to advances in scientific research, we are now able to diagnose the disease at an early stage and, consequently, treat patients more effectively. If, in fact, at the beginning of the 2000s, the life expectancy of patients affected by multiple myeloma was around 2-3 years, today the survival of younger patients who are candidates for intensive chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation can exceed 10 years,” he explains Roberto MinaHematologist at the Hematology division of the City of Health and Science of Turin and university researcher at the University of Turin.
«For this reason, we can say that myeloma is becoming less and less of an acute disease and increasingly a chronic disease. The availability of new drugs in different treatment combinations has changed the therapeutic approach, allowing doctors to direct the therapeutic choice of each patient not only on the basis of efficacy, but also on tolerability and the route of administration» continues the specialist.
Blood cancers: the new drug daratumumab arrives
For multiple myeloma
Among the drugs available, daratumumab represents a valid therapeutic option for those patients who have undergone a first recurrence or do not respond to the first therapies. Now daratumumab is also available and reimbursed in the subcutaneous formulation, with a significant reduction of drug administration times. “This new combination offers a new treatment option for patients who have experienced a first relapse and are refractory to lenalidomide, an increasingly used first-line multiple myeloma drug. However, the benefits are not only in terms of efficacy, but also in terms of tolerability and administration logistics, thanks to the subcutaneous formulation of daratumumab which it also fits the needs of older or more frail patient populations who may have greater difficulty accessing the facilities» adds Mina.
For cardiac amyloidosis
In its subcutaneous formulation daratumumab is also the first specific therapy for the treatment ofamyloidosis, a blood disease for which treatment needs were still unmet. “Given the difficulty of diagnosing the disease promptly, we need a therapy that is not only effective, but also rapid and well tolerated, also considering the fragility of these patients” he explains John PalladiniDirector of the Center for the Study and Treatment of Systemic Amyloidosis, IRCCS Foundation Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia.
“Up to now, treatment has followed the standard multiple myeloma treatment, i.e. stem cell transplantation, for those who are eligible, or chemotherapy. Today’s news is an important step forward that allows us to meet treatment needs for patients with amyloidosis, until now without specific treatments, with results never seen before for this disease. Now that we have the first therapy available for this disease, the next step must be to make it available to all patients, and to make this possible, we need to work in a network between specialists, speeding up diagnosis and increasing care. of patients”.