Educational content on VJHemOnc is intended for healthcare professionals only. By visiting this website and accessing this information you confirm that you are a healthcare professional.

Share this video  

COMy 2022 | Infection prophylaxis in multiple myeloma

In this video, Graham Jackson, MBBS, FRCP, FRCPath, MD, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle, UK, discusses infection prophylaxis in multiple myeloma, drawing focus on the risk that bacterial and viral infections pose to patients. Prof. Jackson also explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of focusing more on infections and how they may impact myeloma patients and their response to therapy. This interview took place at the 8th World Congress on Controversies in Multiple Myeloma (COMy) 2022, held in Paris, France.

Transcript (edited for clarity)

I’m very honored to be here at COMy. And I’m talking this afternoon about infections and prophylaxis against infections in multiple myeloma. I think we all know, after the past two years, how important infections are. And now our myeloma patients are undoubtedly at big risk of infections. And we’ve seen that particularly through COVID. But we also see with frontline, second-line, third-line therapy that our myeloma patients continue to be at risk of not just viral infections, but bacterial infections and pneumonias...

I’m very honored to be here at COMy. And I’m talking this afternoon about infections and prophylaxis against infections in multiple myeloma. I think we all know, after the past two years, how important infections are. And now our myeloma patients are undoubtedly at big risk of infections. And we’ve seen that particularly through COVID. But we also see with frontline, second-line, third-line therapy that our myeloma patients continue to be at risk of not just viral infections, but bacterial infections and pneumonias.

And I would describe the biggest threat to myeloma patients, outside of their disease, is infection. It can be because they’ve got no immunoglobulins, it could be because they’re neutropenic or their immune system is impacted by continuous therapy. And maybe, I think, COVID has meant that we have to re-concentrate on infections in our patients, because that’s what’s preventing some of our patients from gaining all of the benefits of the new therapies we’re seeing in multiple myeloma.

Read more...

Disclosures

Speaker honoraria engagements: Amgen, Takeda, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Celgene and Roche; Research funding: Takeda, Onyx and Celgene; Advisory Boards: Amgen, Takeda, Johnson & Johnson, Oncopeptides, Pfizer, Sanofi, Celgene, GSK and Roche; Board of directors Myeloma UK.