2026 Tandem Meetings: What’s the Latest Research in Multiple Myeloma?

At the 2026 Tandem Meetings, expert hematologist-oncologists from around the world have gathered in Salt Lake City, Utah, to share important research and advancements across different blood cancer disciplines. Sessions have revealed potentially practice-changing insights regarding the use of transplantation, novel cellular therapies, and other modalities for diverse hematologic malignancy populations.

Among the numerous oral and poster presentations featured so far, this year’s gathering has seen several key updates in the multiple myeloma field. Here are some of the takeaways that may influence the future of multiple myeloma care.

KarMMa-3: Optimizing Cellular Therapy Use Across Patient Subgroups

One oral presentation exhibited updated results from the phase 3 KarMMa-3 trial (NCT03651128) evaluating idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel; Abecma) among patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.¹ This specific analysis focused on describing the efficacy and safety outcomes of older and younger patients who received ide-cel or standard-of-care regimens for their disease.

Among patients 70 years or older who received ide-cel (n = 49) or standard regimens (n = 27), the objective response rates (ORRs) were 81.6% (95% CI, 70.8%-92.5%) vs 48.1% (95% CI, 29.3%-67.0%), respectively (P = .0037). For patients younger than 70 who received ide-cel (n = 205) or standard treatment (n = 105), the respective ORRs were 68.8% (95% CI, 62.4%-75.1%) vs 41.0% (95% CI, 31.5%-50.4%; P <.0001).

The median overall survival (OS) was clinically meaningful in older and younger patients who were treated with ide-cel; the median values were not reached (NR) and 39.5 months (95% CI, 27.8-NR), respectively. Additionally, median PFS was extended with ide-cel for patients 70 years or older (P = .0012) and those younger than 70 (P <.0001).

Safety data revealed no significant differences in outcomes among younger and older patients who received ide-cel. In patients 70 years or older and those younger than 70, respectively, findings revealed cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in 6.4% vs 4.5% of patients, and 25.5% vs 27.0% had infections.

“These observations reinforce the potential for durable benefit with a single ide-cel infusion in a real-world context without additional adverse safety signals, supporting its use across age groups,” study investigator Krina K. Patel, MD, MSc, associate professor in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma of the Division of Cancer Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, stated in her presentation of the data.¹

AZD0120: A Novel CAR T-Cell Therapy Option?

As part of another oral presentation, Shambavi Richard, MD, shared preliminary data from the phase 1b/2 DURGA-1 trial (NCT05850234) assessing AZD0120, a first-in-class BCMA/CD19 dual-targeting agent, for patients with relapsed/refractory disease.²

Among 23 evaluable patients who received AZD0120 at 1 x 10⁵ or 1 x 10⁶ cells/kg, the median time to first response was 28 days. Additionally, the ORR was 96%, which included stringent complete responses (sCRs) or CRs in 78.3% of patients as well as partial responses (PRs) in 17.4%. Regarding 5 patients with prior exposure to BCMA-directed therapy, the ORR was 100%, and 80% had sCRs or CRs. Among 17 patients who were evaluable for minimal residual disease (MRD) status per next-generation sequencing, MRD-negative status was reported in 94%.

After a median follow-up of 3.9 months (range, 0.9-19.7), there were no deaths or dose-limiting toxicities. Across both dosing levels, the most common grade 3/4 adverse effects (AEs) included decreased neutrophil counts (81%), decreased lymphocyte counts (50%), and decreased white blood cell counts (42%). Other safety data revealed no grade 3 or higher CRS and no delayed neurotoxicity; 1 patient experienced grade 1 immune cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS).

“A single infusion of AZD0120 resulted in early and deep responses, with 96% ORR, 78% sCR/CR, and 94% MRD negativity in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma,” Richard, associate professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) with the Center of Excellence for Multiple Myeloma at Mount Sinai, stated in her presentation of the data.² “The safety profile is well suited for outpatient administration, and 35% of patients on this study received an outpatient CAR-T infusion.”

How Do Outcomes Differ Across Rural and Urban Populations?

Investigators of a poster presentation utilized information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to spotlight critical differences in outcomes between urban and rural populations from the pre–CAR-T era—2018 to 2019—to the early CAR-T era—2021 to 2022—of multiple myeloma.³

Among 18,019 urban patients, the rate of myeloma-specific mortality declined from 17% in the pre–CAR-T period to 15% in the early CAR-T era (P = .003), while pulmonary mortality decreased from 0.76% to 0.40% (P = .008). Among 2155 patients in rural communities, the rate of myeloma-specific mortality slightly increased from 20% to 21% between periods (P = .4), and the rate of other-cause mortality changed from 5.1% to 7.0% (P = .0025).

“CAR-T–era mortality improvements were observed in urban patients but not in rural populations. Rural patients experienced higher non–MM mortality,” Mahija Cheekati, MD, a hematology fellow at Ochsner Clinic in Louisiana, wrote with coauthors in the poster.³ “These findings highlight a geographic gap in [multiple myeloma] outcomes in the early CAR-T era.”

References

1. Ailawadhi A, Arnulf B, Patel K, et al. KarMMa-3 subgroup analysis in older patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma treated with idecabtagene vicleucel. Presented at: 2026 Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of ASTCT and CIBMTR; February 4-7, 2026; Salt Lake City, UT. Abstract 40.
2. Richard S, Gaballa M, Gregory T, et al. Safety and efficacy of AZD0120, a BCMA/CD19 dual-targeting CAR T-cell therapy, in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: preliminary results from the DURGA-1 phase 1b/2 study. Presented at: 2026 Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of ASTCT and CIBMTR; February 4-7, 2026; Salt Lake City, UT. Abstract 37.
3. Cheekati M, Jerves F, Elhusseiny K, Mahmoud A. Urban-rural disparities in multiple myeloma outcomes in the early CAR-T era. Presented at: 2026 Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of ASTCT and CIBMTR; February 4-7, 2026; Salt Lake City, UT. Abstract 421.