[Current status and future perspective of clinical trials for patients with multiple myeloma].

Abstract

There are two main types of clinical trials: industry-sponsored trials and investigator-initiated trials. Both of these, like the two sets of wheels on a car, are essential to development of treatments. Numerous clinical trials have been conducted in multiple myeloma, contributing to the development of new drugs and the current treatment landscape. Highly effective novel immunotherapies, such as bispecific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, have emerged, and could be incorporated into the treatment landscape in the near future. However, given the improved performance of current standard therapies, the drawbacks (e.g., toxicity) of immunotherapy can be expected to outweigh the benefits (efficacy) in some patients. Therefore, clinical trials are designed to evaluate treatments stratified based on factors such as post-treatment efficacy and disease risk, and stratified treatment approaches are increasingly being considered as well as one-size-fits-all approaches to treatment development. In addition, the use of real-world data is being explored to make clinical trials more efficient. These approaches are expected to further improve the individualization and efficiency of multiple myeloma treatment.