The life perspective for patients with multiple myelomaa type of blood cancer that affects the bone marrow, recorded a significant advance in recent decades.
The chance of a patient being alive five years after diagnosis doubled, from 32% to 62%. The data was released in the annual report “Cancer Statistics 2026”, by the American Cancer Society, during the month that marks awareness about the disease, and reflects the revolution in the therapeutic options available for the disease.
Until the 1970s, the median survival for patients with multiple myeloma was approximately 20 months, with treatments based exclusively on chemotherapy.
Today, the introduction of therapies such as autologous transplantation (a procedure that uses the patient’s own stem cells to restore the bone marrow after high-dose chemotherapy), immunotherapies and bispecific antibodies (which act as a “bridge”, linking the patient’s defense cells to cancer cells to attack them), has transformed the scenario, offering profound and long-lasting responses, capable of controlling the disease and providing quality of life.
An example of this transformation is the story of electronic scrap recycler Joel Dias do Amaral, 63, from Guarulhos, in Greater São Paulo. After being run over in 2024, his fragile bone condition drew attention, leading to a multiple myeloma diagnosis. Joel lost 18 kilos and was unable to walk. “I’ve always had positive thinking and the desire to win. This is common in people who run marathons.”
Joel had the opportunity to participate in a clinical study with bispecific antibodywhich changed its trajectory. In January 2025, he started walking again, in April he resumed walking and, in December, he closed the year by running to São Silvestre in his 100th edition. Currently, he claims to be doing everything he did before his illness, or even better, and plans to run several marathons.
Importance of early diagnosis
Doctor Vânia Virgínia, hematologist, co-founder and president of the scientific council of IMF (acronym for International Myeloma Foundation) Latin America and adjunct professor at Santa Casa de São Paulo, explains the complexity of the disease and the importance of early diagnosis.
The doctor details that multiple myeloma is a disease in which malignant plasma cells (defense cells that have become abnormal and multiply uncontrollably) accumulate, leading to symptoms such as back pain, anemia and kidney changes.
The specialist highlights the impact of new treatment approaches. “Today, we have many, such as monoclonal antibodies, bispecific antibodies, CAR-T cells. It is a huge innovation for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma”, says Vânia Virgínia.
She continues. “These treatments can be with simple therapy or monotherapy and can be with combined therapies and the results are excellent, with deep, lasting responses and most importantly, leading to increased survival of patients with quality of life.”
Types of treatment
- Daratumumabe (antiCD38): in quadruple therapies (combining four different medications), it can offer up to 17 years without disease progression, that is, without the cancer advancing again
- Bispecific antibodies (Teclistamabe and Talquetamabe): such as Teclistamab (anti-BCMA) and Talquetamab (anti-GPRC5D), which expand options for patients who relapse or do not respond to other treatments
- CAR-T Therapy (CARVYKTI): treatment that uses the patient’s own genetically modified defense cells to attack cancer cells, providing lasting remissions
New combinations, such as the combination of teclistamab and daratumumab, also demonstrate a significant reduction in the risk of progression or death in patients on second line treatment, according to the specialist.
These advances not only prolong life, according to the hematologist, but also allow patients like Joel Dias do Amaral to resume their activities and plan the future with more optimism, transforming a progressive and incurable disease into a controllable condition with quality of life.
