Recognizing the European Multiple Myeloma Day
Throughout September, several dates are dedicated to raising awareness about hematological cancers — a group of diseases including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, among others — that still present significant challenges with unmet needs both in research and in society. One of these occasions is September 27, the European Multiple Myeloma Day.
For a company like Oncopeptides, which focuses on research, development and commercialization of targeted therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers, this day is a reminder of why we must continue to fight every day: blood cancers globally account for around 6%[i] of all cancers diagnosed.
The awareness activities carried out by the different patient associations across Europe help us to put a face on some of the more than 180,000 people who are diagnosed with multiple myeloma worldwide every year[ii]. It allows us to learn about their concerns and make us aware of how the disease affects their daily lives and their families.
Quality of life research
The impact of multiple myeloma on the quality of life of patients and their families is considerable. About 50% of patients with multiple myeloma experience a significant deterioration in their quality of life, particularly in terms of physical and emotional well-being[iii].
Moreover, we must remember that the average age of onset of multiple myeloma is around 65-70 years[IV]. Additionally, as the disease progresses, patients often suffer one or more relapses and respond less and less to the therapies used. Adverse drug reactions and intolerances, as well as refractoriness to used therapies, make multiple myeloma increasingly difficult to treat as the disease progresses[v].
At Oncopeptides, we believe that the quality of life for people with multiple myeloma, and with haematological cancers in general, is clearly an unmet need, one that treatments must meet and that requires research.
For this reason, quality of life assessment criteria, in addition to overall survival and other clinical factors, is part of the objectives in the design of the clinical trials we are developing. This provides especially important information to the clinician who must respond to people, which has their own lives, their values and their habits.
European Multiple Myeloma Day reminds us of the importance of joining forces. Oncopeptides wants to be part of the great contribution made by researchers and clinicians to improve the lives of patients suffering from difficult-to-treat cancers by providing innovative therapeutic options that contribute to the well-being of patients.
We remain committed to bringing hope through science.
Sofia Heigis
CEO Oncopeptides
I Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) https://gco.iarc.who.int/en
II Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) https://gco.iarc.who.int/media/globocan/factsheets/cancers/35-multiple-myeloma-fact-sheet.pdf
III Potrata, B., Cavet, J., Blair, S., Howe, K., & Molassiotis, A. (2011). Understanding distress and care needs of patients with multiple myeloma: a qualitative study. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20(17-18), 2656-2666.
IV https://www.sehh.es/images/stories/recursos/2024/02/19/online/mobile/index.html
V Chim et al., 2018; Kumar et al., 2017; Rajkumar, 2016b