MSK is a major research institution. During your treatment for multiple myeloma, your care team may ask if you want to join a clinical trial.
What is a clinical trial?
Clinical trials are research studies that test new treatments, procedures, or devices to see how well they work. They are an important part of helping to prevent, treat, and cure cancer. Almost every cancer treatment given to patients was first tested during a clinical trial.
MSK tests new treatments for multiple myeloma. In general, treatment trials test new drugs, drug combinations, devices, and ways of doing procedures, surgery, or radiation therapy.
Sometimes a clinical trial gives you access to new therapies that are not yet available at most hospitals. Talk with your doctor about whether joining a clinical trial is right for you.
Clinical trials are designed to answer questions about:
- Safety
- Benefits
- Side effects
- Whether some people are helped more than others
MSK will start a clinical trial only if our researchers think we can improve methods for cancer:
- Prevention
- Treatment
- Diagnosis
- Screening
For more information, please read Clinical Trials at MSK: What You Need to Know.
Clinical trials to improve treatments for multiple myeloma
MSK is researching new ways to evaluate people with myeloma just when they’re diagnosed. We aim to evaluate how they may respond to treatment.
MSK researchers are learning more about the genetics of multiple myeloma. We are using this knowledge to find better drugs to control the disease.
We look for changes (mutations and variants) that can make the cancer worse. MSK has a team of experts in using diagnostic tools, such as DNA sequencing or microarray analysis. A microarray is a lab tool that can analyze thousands of genes at one time.
Through MSK clinical trials, we’re exploring the best ways to combine standard chemotherapy drugs with immune-modifying drugs. We also are testing newer immunotherapies and mechanisms of action (how a drug affects the body).
You can search below for the latest list of MSK’s clinical trials for multiple myeloma and related plasma cell diseases.
