Closing Knowledge Gaps to Optimize Patient Outcomes and Advance Precision Medicine.

Realizing the promise of precision medicine requires patient engagement at the key decision points throughout the cancer journey. Previous research has shown that patients who make the "right" decisions, such as being treated at a high-volume academic medical center, for example, have better outcomes. An online survey was conducted to understand awareness of and barriers to these decision points among patients with multiple myeloma and pancreatic, lung, prostate, and metastatic breast cancers.

Perifosine plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone in relapsed and relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: a Phase I Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium study.

The combination of lenalidomide-dexamethasone is active in multiple myeloma (MM). Preclinical data showed that the Akt inhibitor, perifosine, sensitized MM cells to lenalidomide and dexamethasone, providing the rationale for this Phase I, multicentre, single-arm study to assess the safety and determine the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of perifosine-lenalidomide-dexamethasone in relapsed and relapsed/refractory MM. Patients received escalating doses of perifosine 50-100 mg daily and lenalidomide 15-25 mg once daily on days 1-21 of each 28-d cycle, plus dexamethasone 20-40 mg weekly thereafter, as indicated.

Company Profile: Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

The role of nonprofit organizations in drug development has evolved from a primary emphasis on grant funding to a driving force that is advancing scientific development and leading cutting edge research. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) is a leader in this field, and has recognized that despite recent advances, multiple myeloma patients' responses to today's treatments are variable and unpredictable, often based on the patient's molecular profile. The MMRF believes all patients would benefit from the creation of new, personalized treatment approaches and is working to make this vision a reality with its ambitious Personalized Medicine Initiative.

One foundation's strategy to accelerate drug discovery through genomics.

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) has the principal goal of accelerating development of next-generation drugs for treating multiple myeloma. By making targeted investments in key research areas such as genomics and epigenetics, the MMRF is helping to elucidate the basic biology of multiple myeloma, to drive promising new treatments into clinical development, and ultimately to link the right treatment to the right patient.