State-of-the-Art Research on Multiple Myeloma Progression: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 494

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders, Levine Cancer Institute, Atrium Health Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Charlotte, NC 28204, USA
Interests: plasma cell disorders; multiple myeloma; amyloidosis; plasma cell leukemia; CAR-T
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue, titled “State-of-the-Art Research on Multiple Myeloma Progression” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/cancers/special_issues/643D1E11VE).

Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that occurs when malignant plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow. In recent years, scientists have made significant progress in understanding the molecular pathways involved in myeloma development and in developing new drugs to treat this disease.

One crucial area of research has been the identification of genetic mutations and alterations that contribute to the development of myeloma. In addition, by studying the genomic landscape of myeloma, researchers have discovered new targets for drug development, such as inhibitors of the oncogene, including MYC, MDM2, IRF4, and PERK.

Another area of focus has been the development of immunotherapies, which harness the immune system's power to fight cancer. One promising approach involves the use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell or chimeric NK-cell therapy, which involves genetically engineering a donor's or patient's immune cells to recognize and attack myeloma cells, and developing off-the-shelf bispecific T-cell engagers against multiple targets, such as BCMA, GPRC5D, FcRH5, and the cluster of differentiation (CD)1d and CD47. In addition, T-cell engager underdevelopment could be employed to affect multiple targets simultaneously.

Bench-to-bedside development is a vital process that enables the development of new therapies for myeloma, leading to improved patient outcomes and survival. Current state-of-the-art therapies in myeloma include immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, T-cell engagers, CAR-T cell therapies, and XPO-1 inhibitors.

Recent advances in myeloma research and drug development are offering hope and the possibility of improved outcomes to patients with this challenging disease.

Dr. Shebli Atrash
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • multiple myeloma
  • novel targets
  • novel therapies
  • molecular therapy
  • immunotherapy

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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13 pages, 766 KB  
Article
Combined Minimal Residual Disease Evaluation in Bone Marrow and Apheresis Samples in Multiple Myeloma Patients Undergoing Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation Improves Outcome Prediction
by Irene Attucci, Benedetta Peruzzi, Chiara Nozzoli, Serena Guerrieri, Sofia Pilerci, Riccardo Boncompagni, Serena Urbani, Chiara Orazzini, Sara Bencini, Manuela Capone, Maria Messeri, Roberto Caporale, Francesco Annunziato, Alessandro M. Vannucchi and Elisabetta Antonioli
Cancers 2025, 17(15), 2439; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17152439 - 23 Jul 2025
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Abstract
Introduction: Despite the approval of novel agents that have significantly improved long-term survival rates for multiple myeloma (MM) patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), most patients eventually relapse. The failure to achieve or maintain bone marrow (BM) minimal residual disease (MRD) [...] Read more.
Introduction: Despite the approval of novel agents that have significantly improved long-term survival rates for multiple myeloma (MM) patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), most patients eventually relapse. The failure to achieve or maintain bone marrow (BM) minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity is a recognised adverse prognostic factor for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Contamination of stem cell apheresis by clonal plasma cells may also affect prognosis, though data remain limited. Methods: We conducted a prospective, single-centre observational study including 100 newly diagnosed MM patients eligible for ASCT and treated with bortezomib-based triplet induction. MRD was assessed both on BM and apheresis samples using multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC-MRD) with a sensitivity of 10−5. Results: Clonal plasma cells were detected in 22 apheresis samples (aMRD+), all of which were associated with BM MRD positivity. Patients with aMRD+ had inferior pre-ASCT responses (≥VGPR: 10% vs. 63%, p = 0.005) and worse post-ASCT BM MRD negativity rates (4% vs. 49%, p = 0.048). After a median follow-up of 52.4 months, aMRD+ was associated with shorter progression-free survival (median 38.5 vs. not reached, p = 0.007) and overall survival (median 60 months vs. not reached, p = 0.003). Conclusions: Contamination of the apheresis product is associated with persistent BM disease and poorer outcomes. Combined MRD assessment in both bone marrow and apheresis may improve risk stratification in MM patients undergoing ASCT. Full article
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