International Myeloma Society establishes new functional cure definition

At the 23rd Annual Meeting of the International Myeloma Society (IMS) in Glasgow, clinical leaders established a new consensus definition for a functional cure in multiple myeloma. To meet this criteria, patients must achieve five consecutive years of complete treatment cessation, complete remission, negative PET-CT imaging, and serial minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity.

Long-term data from major clinical trials were presented to support evolving treatment standards. The PERSEUS trial demonstrated that newly diagnosed, transplant-eligible patients treated with a quadruplet regimen (D-VRd) achieved an 81% progression-free survival rate at six years, significantly outperforming standard VRd therapy. The study also explored maintenance de-escalation, allowing some patients to stop daratumumab after achieving sustained MRD negativity.

Additionally, seven-year follow-up data from the CARTITUDE-2 study showed that 50% of heavily pretreated patients receiving cilta-cel (a CAR-T therapy) maintained treatment-free remission meeting the new cure criteria. These findings represent a shift in therapeutic goals toward achieving long-term, treatment-free remission.