Expert Interviews

Dr. Thomas Martin transitions the panel to the third abstract review, and Team Myeloma Masters presents real-world treatment patterns and outcomes in lenalidomide-refractory relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma drawn from the Flatiron registry.

Segment opens with the closing moments of the CAR T-cell therapy quality-of-life argument before Dr. Thomas Martin transitions to the second abstract review.

In this segment, Isabel Curtin, LCSW, discusses how patient communities and support organizations can complement clinical care by providing education, connecting patients and caregivers with others who have similar experiences, and helping normalize the challenges of living with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Wade T. Iams, MD, of Tennessee Oncology, walks through the design of COPERNICUS, a single-arm US study of subcutaneous amivantamab plus lazertinib in patients with exon 19 deletion or L858R epidermal growth factor receptor mutations.

DREAMM-7 reveals belantamab combo extends myeloma PFS, with reversible eye effects, REMS monitoring, and fewer severe infections.

Experts explain who benefits from menin inhibitors in AML, which tests to order at relapse, and how to choose revumenib vs ziftomenib.

Dr. Saad Usmani and Dr. Shaji Kumar discuss how treatment goals and measures of clinical benefit have evolved in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

Experts explain how menin inhibitors target KMT2A and NPM1 AML, why retesting matters, and how to choose approved drugs or trials.

Dr. Saad Usmani and Dr. Shaji Kumar introduce the evolving treatment landscape for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, focusing on the increasing role of CD38-directed therapy in frontline treatment.

In this segment, Isabel Curtin, LCSW, discusses the psychosocial, financial, and practical challenges that can accompany living with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, including repeatedly updating family and friends about treatment, managing work and financial responsibilities, and accessing community resources and support groups.

Wade T. Iams, MD, of Tennessee Oncology, and Luis E. Raez, MD, of Miami Cancer Institute, discuss anticoagulation after the 4-month window and what happens when patients stop skin prophylaxis early on amivantamab plus lazertinib.

Chih-Yi “Andy” Liao, MD, discusses how oncologists are sequencing pemigatinib, futibatinib, and lirafugratinib and how their tolerability differs.

Experts explain who benefits from belantamab in relapsed myeloma and how REMS eye exams and dose tweaks keep treatment on track.

Chih-Yi “Andy” Liao, MD, discusses the FDA approval of lirafugratinib and what the field has learned about resistance to FGFR2 inhibitors.

Ayal Aizer, MD, MHS, discusses patients for whom single-fraction SRS may remain reasonable after brain metastasis resection.

C. Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, discusses the FDA’s endorsement of MRD as an accelerated approval end point in multiple myeloma.

The faculty describe the approval of belantamab mafodotin with bortezomib and dexamethasone for patients who have had at least 2 prior lines of treatment including a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD), noting the boxed warning for ocular adverse effects.

Ethan B. Ludmir, MD, explains why advanced radiation techniques like protons fit nonoperative cholangiocarcinoma better than the preoperative setting.

The hosts open the program and set out what the discussion will cover in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: the area of unmet need in patients who have already received a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD), the regulatory path that led from monotherapy to a combination, the DREAMM-7 trial design and efficacy outcomes, safety and monitoring, and where an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) fits among the many options available at early relapse.

Ayal Aizer, MD, MHS, explains why fractionated SRS outperformed single-fraction SRS for surgical bed control in Alliance A071801.

Ayal Aizer, MD, MHS, says Alliance A071801 supports fractionated SRS as standard after resection, with comparable radiation necrosis rates.

Jyoti Malhotra, MD, MPH on first-in-human clinical trials, lung cancer precision medicine in 2026, the disparities tension in drug development, and her move to Yale Cancer Center.

Ethan B. Ludmir, MD, details which cholangiocarcinoma subsets, by tumor location, may benefit most from neoadjuvant radiation before surgery.

Clinicians must think a lot about how to make testing and novel treatment advances available for patients globally, according to Chul Kim, MD, MPH.

Estelamari Rodriguez, MD, MPH, of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center presents the final overall survival data from the phase 3 FLAURA2 study of osimertinib plus chemotherapy in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), at more than 47.5 months versus approximately 38 months for osimertinib alone, and asks how the panel handles cross-trial comparison.

In the closing discussion, the faculty address how they choose between the available chemoimmunotherapy regimens and where the field is heading.

The closing discussion brings together the emerging clinical evidence and future development of CELMoDs in multiple myeloma.

Matthew Gumbleton, MD, PhD, of Huntsman Cancer Institute and Siddhartha Devarakonda, MD, of Providence Swedish Cancer Institute discuss how they translate grade 3 or higher adverse event rates into a conversation a patient can actually use in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Ethan B. Ludmir, MD, explains the rationale for moving radiation into the neoadjuvant setting for borderline resectable cholangiocarcinoma.

C. Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, discusses how MRD-driven strategies may eliminate the transplant-eligible vs transplant-ineligible framework in multiple myeloma.