Patterns of Care and Novel Therapeutics for Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM), an incurable mature B-cell neoplasm is the second most common haematological malignancy. MM research is largely derived from clinical trial data of highly selected patient populations. This thesis investigated if these patient populations accurately reflect “real-world” myeloma patient populations in Australia/New Zealand and therefore the appropriateness of extrapolation of these data. This was achieved by in-depth interrogation of data from the Myeloma and Related Diseases Registry. Additionally, this thesis evaluated novel therapies in relapsed/refractory (RR)MM including a clinical trial investigating the combination of ixazomib, thalidomide and dexamethasone, a new, all oral, more affordable therapy combination for RRMM.