Episode 117

Innovative tools for Disease Monitoring in Multiple Myeloma

Join us for an insightful interview with Prof Bruno Paiva from Clinical University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, as he and our host Dr. Isabel Olivera-Martinez, discuss the latest technical approaches to improving monitoring, risk stratification and differential diagnosis of patients with monoclonal gammopathies including MGUS (monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance), smoldering myeloma and multiple myeloma.

Prof Paiva begins by highlighting the importance of developing less invasive tools to assess MRD, given that multiple myeloma patients are living longer and need to be monitored multiple times.

He further describes the potential updates to the guidelines of the International Myeloma Working Group that may include the use of mass spectrometry, as a more sensitive method to quantify the M-component as well as the application of next-generation techniques - such as next-generation flow cytometry and next-generation sequencing- to monitor disease in peripheral blood, as a complement to bone marrow assessments.

Prof Paiva also discusses the two largest ongoing translational studies, which aim to elucidate the “unknown” and define the clinical significance of MGUS and smoldering myeloma for each individual patient.

Host: Isabel Olivera-Martinez, PhD, Medical Writer 

Guest: Prof Bruno Paiva