By Annette Pinder

Every year, 36,000 Americans are diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that has long been deemed incurable. This disease originates in plasma cells within the bone marrow and plays a vital role in the immune system by producing antibodies to combat infections. However, in multiple myeloma, abnormal plasma cells multiply uncontrollably, crowding out normal cells and disrupting the production of healthy blood cells. These cancerous cells accumulate, forming tumors in the bone marrow and weakening the bones, which hinders the body’s ability to generate healthy blood cells. This leads to anemia, infections, and other complications, ultimately resulting in the disease’s progression and patients’ eventual succumbing to it.

Results from a Johnson & Johnson clinical trial involving 97 patients with longstanding multiple myeloma offer new hope for a potential cure. When these patients’ cancers returned after various treatments, leaving them with no further options and facing hospice, they were given immunotherapy as a last-ditch effort. The results were astonishing. One-third of the patients who received the treatment achieved complete cancer remission, with no signs of recurrence after five years.

Legend Biotech, headquartered in China, is responsible for developing the CART-T immunotherapy. Initially met with skepticism, the company is now based in New Jersey and collaborating with Johnson & Johnson. While most cancer drugs are expensive and often yield no results, CART-T is also costly. Nevertheless, Johnson & Johnson is investigating whether earlier treatment might lead to better outcomes.

Dr. Norman Sharpless, former director of the National Cancer Institute and a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, said, “This is the first time we are really talking seriously about a cure for one of the worst malignancies imaginable.”