MGUS-like Pattern, an Open-Access Calculator, and the Continuing Search for a Cure

In this week’s blog, IMF Chairman of the Board and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Brian G.M. Durie shares a bit of good news: a group of Spanish researchers developed an open access MGUS-like calculator using data from flow cytometry—helping achieve much better outcomes in identifying patients with multiple myeloma and light-chain amyloidosis. Dr. Durie elaborates further on the implications and significance of this new discovery, as well as the differences between myeloma patients with MGUS-like phenotype vs patients with residual disease. He lauds this new and helpful breakthrough and how making this new tool broadly available is very helpful to the myeloma community. 

Register for the Upcoming IMF Patient and Family Webinar

The next Patient and Family Webinar will be on Wednesday, May 17, at 4 p.m. PST | 5 p.m. MST | 6 p.m. CST | 7 p.m. EST. This webinar, “Understanding the New Myeloma Landscape,” will cover both the basics of diagnosis and early treatment as well as address the excitement around new immune therapies. The speakers will also focus on the importance of expert management of infection. The webinar’s myeloma experts include IMF Chief Scientific Officer and Chairman of the Board Brian G.M. Durie, MD; Rafat Abonour, MD (Indiana University, Simon Cancer Center — Indianapolis); Saad Usmani, MD, MBA, FACP (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center — New York); and IMF Nurse Leadership Board Member Ann McNeill, RN, MSN, APN (The John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack University Medical Center — Hackensack, NJ). Learn more about individual topics and register now.  

Register for the In-Person IMF Regional Community Workshop in Baltimore

The IMF Regional Community Workshop will take place on Saturday, June 17, 2023, at the J. Miller Tawes Ballroom, Coppin State University (2500 W. North Ave) in Baltimore. IMF Senior Director of Regional Community Workshops Kelly Cox will welcome attendees. The event’s speakers are David Vesole, MD, PhD (MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington D.C.); Ashraf Badros, MD (University of Maryland in Baltimore); IMF Nurse Leadership Board Member Kevin Brigle, (Virginia Commonwealth University, Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, VA); and myeloma patients Bonnie Downing and Laura English, who will discuss the patient journey. Medical topics include an introduction to myeloma, upfront treatments at diagnosis, maintenance therapy, relapse information, side effects management, and an update on clinical trials. After each presentation with the experts, attendees will have ample time to ask questions.

Join the IMF’s M-Power Initiative at Riverside Church in New York City

This IMF M-Power Workshop will take place on Saturday, June 17, 2023, from 10 a.m. EST – 12:40 p.m. EST at the Riverside Church (490 Riverside Dr) in New York, NY 10027. This workshop’s panel of myeloma experts will be IMF Chief Medical Officer Joseph Mikhael, MD; Saad Usmani, MD; and IMF Nurse Leadership Board Member Amy Pierre, MSN, RN, ANP-BC. Topics include the Importance of Communication in your Care, Changing the Course of Myeloma in New York, an Interview with Patient and Care Partner Team: Terrence and Toni Green, and Looking to the Future with Hope. Participants will also have the chance to ask these experts their questions. Register now before it’s too late!

Join the IMF’s M-Power Initiative at the Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, New York

This IMF M-Power Community Workshop will take place on Saturday, June 17, 2023, from 10 a.m. EST – 12:40 p.m. EST at Grace Baptist Church (52 S. 6th Avenue) in Mount Vernon, New York, NY 10550. At this location, attendees can connect with the local community and watch a livestream of the Riverside Church panel event. All will have an opportunity to ask questions in-person of two experts from New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Those experts are Drs. Hani Hassoun and Carlyn Rose Tan. Register now to engage with your local community! Seats are limited.

Las Voces de Mieloma Support Group (Spanish-Virtual)

Join Las Voces de Mieloma Support Group (Spanish/Virtual), on Tuesday, May 16, 10:00 a.m.– 11:00 a.m. (Pacific Time), with Guest Speaker: Leonor Cubillos Brown, Patient.

For any questions, please email [email protected].

Las Voces de Mieloma Grupo de Apoyo (Virtual/Español)

Las Voces de Mieloma Grupo de Apoyo (en Español/Virtual), Martes, 16 de Mayo, 10:00 a.m.— 11:00 a.m. (Tiempo Pacífico), con Invitada Especial: Leonor Cubillos Brown, Paciente.

Para preguntas, envíe un correo electrónoco a: [email protected].

Jump with Gerry – A Myeloma Patient and Care Partner Skydive for a Cause

Gerry Auth, a five-year myeloma survivor and Co-leader of a myeloma support group in Ann Arbor, Michigan, will skydive with his wife Nancy on May 18th while they are visiting Southern California. Gerry and Nancy will rise to these new heights to raise funds for the IMF; and perhaps also to honor the sentiment of Yelak Biru, the IMF’s President and CEO as well as 27-year myeloma survivor, who says, “As cancer patients, we should all remember that while avoiding to die, we must not forget to live!” Support Gerry and Nancy as they live it up in the sky.

Now Accepting Applications: The 2023 Brian D. Novis Research Grants

The Brian D. Novis Research Grant was established in 1995 to honor IMF co-founder Brian D. Novis, who succumbed to multiple myeloma in July 1992. The grants are awarded to researchers working in the field of multiple myeloma and related disorders, including smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), and immunoglobulin-derived amyloidosis. The grants will support senior research projects with $80,000 each and junior research projects with $50,000 each. Deadline for submission of applications is August 28, 2023.

#ASKDRDURIE | Dr. Durie's Weekly Web Video Series

What is MGUS?