Publications by authors named "Niklas Zojer"

Understanding the impact of induction and maintenance therapy on patients' quality of life (QoL) is important for treatment selection. This study aims to compare patient-reported QoL between patients treated with KTd or KRd induction therapy and K maintenance therapy or observation. QoL was assessed using the EORTC QOL-C 30 and QOL-MY20 questionnaires in the AGMT-02 study, in which 123 patients with newly diagnosed transplant ineligible multiple myeloma were randomized to nine cycles of either KTd or KRd induction therapy, followed by 12 cycles of K maintenance therapy, or observation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Targeting nucleotide biosynthesis is a proven strategy for the treatment of cancer but is limited by toxicity, reflecting the fundamental nucleotide requirement of dividing cells. The rate limiting step in de novo pyrimidine synthesis is of interest, being catalyzed by two homologous enzymes, CTP synthase 1 (CTPS1) and CTPS2, that could be differentially targeted. Herein, analyses of publicly available datasets identified an essential role for CTPS1 in multiple myeloma (MM), linking high expression of CTPS1 (but not CTPS2) with advanced disease and poor outcomes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Biomarker-defined patients with smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) were included in the diagnostic category of multiple myeloma (MM) by the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) in 2014. This includes ≥60% bone marrow plasma cells (BMPCs), free light chain ratio (FLCratio) ≥100, and >1 MRI-defined ≥5 mm focal lesion, also called SLiM CRAB MM. We examined whether the risk of progression of SLiM CRAB MM patients to CRAB positive MM described in recent studies differs from that reported in earlier studies published before the introduction of the new diagnostic criteria.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - A clinical trial compared intensive treatment strategies for non-M3 AML in patients aged 60 and over against a standard treatment known as CSA, involving a total of 1,286 participants.
  • - The study found that rates of complete remission at 90 days and five-year event-free survival were similar across CSA and the other intensive treatment groups, with no significant differences observed.
  • - Overall, the more intensive treatment strategies did not lead to better outcomes in terms of event-free survival or overall survival compared to the standard CSA treatment based on the evaluated data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We report on a 47-year-old patient suffering from bilateral gonalgia, weight loss and night sweats without fever of several months' duration. Diagnostic work-up for infectious and autoimmune diseases showed no abnormal results. A CT scan showed extensive foci of sclerosis throughout the axial skeleton.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Patients with multiple myeloma frequently present with substantial immune impairment and an increased risk for infections and infection-related mortality. The risk for infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus and resulting mortality is also increased, emphasising the importance of protecting patients by vaccination. Available data in patients with multiple myeloma suggest a suboptimal anti-SARS-CoV-2 immune response, meaning a proportion of patients are unprotected.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Personalized medicine seeks to match specific cancer treatments to individual patients based on their tumor characteristics, but current methods only assist less than 10% of patients.
  • A new approach, called single-cell functional precision medicine (scFPM), was tested on 143 patients with aggressive hematologic cancers, where 39% received treatments guided by scFPM results.
  • Results showed that 54% of patients treated according to scFPM experienced improved progression-free survival, with some achieving exceptional responses lasting three times longer than typical, indicating the method's clinical feasibility and effectiveness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members have recently (re)emerged as key drug targets in cancer, with a tissue- and tumor-specific activity profile of available BH3 mimetics. In multiple myeloma, MCL-1 has been described as a major gatekeeper of apoptosis. This discovery has led to the rapid establishment of clinical trials evaluating the impact of various MCL-1 inhibitors.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Relapse of acute leukemia is common and complicated, with only 74.2% of 1621 patients achieving complete remission after initial treatment phases.
  • Among non-refractory patients, 48.4% relapsed, primarily within the first 18 months, with the possibility of achieving a second complete remission (CR2) depending on age and other factors.
  • The study highlights that while overall survival rates are low, they improve significantly with hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and factors like longer initial remission periods; however, relapse remains a significant challenge in treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Alterations in the human microbiome have been linked to several malignant diseases. Here, we investigated the oral microbiome of 79 patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM) treated with ixazomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone. Increased alpha diversity (Shannon index) at the phylum level was associated with longer progression-free survival (PFS) (10.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Vaccination is one of the most successful medical interventions that has saved the life of millions of people. Vaccination is particularly important in patients with multiple myeloma, who have an increased risk of infections due to the disease-inherent immune suppression, and because of the immune suppressive effects of therapy. Hence, all appropriate measures should be exploited, to elicit an effective immune response to common pathogens like influenza, pneumococci, varicella zoster virus, and to those bacteria and viruses (haemophilus influenzae, meningococci, and hepatitis) that frequently may pose a significant risk to patients with multiple myeloma.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Future progress in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) requires both the characterisation of key drivers of the disease and novel, innovative approaches to tackle these vulnerabilities. The present study focussed on the pre-clinical evaluation of a novel drug class, BMI-1 modulators, in MM. We demonstrate potent activity of PTC-028 and PTC596 in a comprehensive set of in vitro and in vivo models, including models of drug resistance and stromal support.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Ixazomib-revlimid-dexamethason showed significant activity in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Here, we evaluate ixazomib in combination with thalidomide and dexamethasone for induction treatment followed by ixazomib maintenance therapy in RRMM patients.

Methods: Ninety patients have been included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This trial evaluated quality of life (QoL) using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the EORTC QLQ-MY20 instruments in 90 patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma during induction and maintenance therapy with eight cycles of ixazomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone, followed by 12 months of ixazomib maintenance therapy. When patient's baseline QoL was compared with data of the general population, a significant impairment in health-related QoL, physical, role, and social functioning and several other dimensions, as well as more pain and fatigue, was noted. Induction therapy resulted in significant improvement of pain and worsening of neuropathy, with no significant variation of other parameters.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Fixed duration vs continuous therapy in multiple myeloma.

Hematology Am Soc Hematol Educ Program

December 2017

Article Synopsis
  • New drugs with lower toxicity have led to comparisons between continuous therapy and fixed-duration therapy in treating multiple myeloma.
  • For transplant-eligible patients, bortezomib-based therapies improved progression-free survival (PFS), especially in those with standard-risk cytogenetics.
  • Continuous therapy, particularly with lenalidomide, shows survival benefits, but older and frail patients often prefer fixed-duration treatments due to lower willingness to endure long-term therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Treatment of high-risk patients is a major challenge in multiple myeloma. This is especially true for patients assigned to the gene expression profiling-defined proliferation subgroup. Although recent efforts have identified some key players of proliferative myeloma, genetic interactions and players that can be targeted with clinically effective drugs have to be identified in order to overcome the poor prognosis of these patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) are a cornerstone in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM), but specific markers to predict outcome are still missing. Recent work pointed to a prognostic role for IMiD target genes (e.g.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The identification of myeloma stem cells is vital for cancer therapy but suffers from inconsistent terminology and definitions; this paper summarizes existing documentation and suggests single-cell studies for future research.
  • A classical method reveals that a specific subset of malignant plasma cells is tumorigenic in myeloma, supporting the presence of myeloma stem cells, while newer approaches identify a memory B cell as a potential cell of origin.
  • The authors propose a revised framework for myeloma stem cell research, emphasizing the need for precise terminology, validated technologies, and a thorough understanding of the disease's cellular architecture to aid in precision medicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Plerixafor in combination with granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is approved for autologous stem cell mobilization in poor mobilizing patients with multiple myeloma or malignant lymphoma. The purpose of this study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of plerixafor in an immediate rescue approach, administrated subsequently to G-CSF alone or chemotherapy and G-CSF in patients at risk for mobilization failure. Eighty-five patients mobilized with G-CSF alone or chemotherapy were included.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Immune suppression is a hallmark of multiple myeloma (MM), but data on soluble factors involved in the fate of immune effector cells are limited. The CXCR3-binding chemokine monokine induced by interferon-gamma (MIG/CXCL9) has been associated with tumor progression, immune escape, and angiogenesis in several malignancies. We here aimed to evaluate the prognostic relevance of MIG in MM.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF