Could There Finally Be a Cure for this Fatal Cancer?

If you’ve been following news out of the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, you already know this year brought a rare kind of headline—one that uses “multiple myeloma” and “potential cure” in the same sentence.

At the center of this buzz is new long-term data from the CARTITUDE-1 (CAR-T) trial, which was presented at ASCO and had experts and thought-leaders in the blood cancer world buzzing.^[]

More about the study

The new study, published in The Journal of Clinical Oncology, included a group of 97 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, who had received standard treatment options. They were given a type of immunotherapy known as CAR-T.

CAR-T was "delivered as an infusion of the patient’s own white blood cells that have been removed and engineered to attack the cancer," The New York Times reported. ^[] The treatment has the possibility of transforming outcomes for patients with other forms of blood cancer, such as leukemia. ^[]

This infusion led to durable remissions—and, in a third of cases, 5-year progression-free survival with no additional therapy.

The future of multiple myeloma treatment

“In my 30 years in oncology, we haven’t talked about curing myeloma,” Norman Sharpless, MD, a professor of cancer policy and innovation at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, told The Times. “This is the first time we are really talking seriously about cure in one of the worst malignancies imaginable.” ^[]

In an Instagram Reel, Kathy Giusti, CEO of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, said the research is "as exciting as it sounds."

What does this mean for your patients right now?

Your patients with multiple myeloma may have already seen the coverage. They may be asking if they’re candidates—or if they should hold off on other therapies to access CAR-T.

Here’s what to tell them:

1. This is real hope. For the first time, we’re seeing long-term MRD-negative survival in heavily pretreated patients. In one trial, median overall survival was 5 years—and one-third of patients are still progression-free with no further treatment.

2. But it’s not easy. CAR-T therapy, while effective, remains logistically and physically demanding. Many patients require a caregiver, and toxicities can be significant. “We want to make sure we make these therapies less toxic... so we can start to move these drugs out to the community," explains Giusti.

3. Access is still limited. Right now, CAR-T therapy is only available in some centers, says Giusti—and, in some cases, manufacturing and delivery timelines are still unknown. For some patients, this can be a dealbreaker.

4. The sequencing puzzle is just beginning. As with all immunotherapies, figuring out when and how to use CAR-T in the course of disease remains an open question. "We need to identify the best way to dose, sequence, and combine immunotherapy agents down the road," she says.

The takeaway for oncologists

If you’re treating patients with multiple myeloma—especially those with triple-class refractory disease—these results mark a turning point. It may be time to have conversations about:

• Referrals to academic centers offering CAR-T therapy

• Clinical trial enrollment for earlier-line use of CAR-T

• Long-term survivorship care planning

• MRD tracking and shared decision-making