September 30, 2026
Highlights from the International Myeloma Society (IMS) annual meeting
Highlights from the International Myeloma Society (IMS) annual meeting
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From September 23-26, Myeloma Patients Europe (MPE) attended the 23rd International Myeloma Society (IMS) Annual Meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. The IMS Annual Meeting is one of the most important international conferences for myeloma researchers and healthcare professionals, bringing together experts to discuss basic science, preclinical research and clinical developments in myeloma. More than 3,000 people from over 75 countries attended this year’s meeting.
MPE was there to learn about the latest developments in myeloma treatment, diagnosis and monitoring, and to make sure that patients’ perspectives and priorities are represented in discussions about the future of myeloma care. Here are some of the highlights we took away from this year’s meeting:
Looking at the whole person
The Nursing and allied health symposium had a strong focus on the importance of quality of life and understanding what matters to patients.
One key message was that a frailty score alone does not always give a complete picture of someone’s health. A full geriatric assessment can consider areas such as mobility, mood and ability to carry out everyday activities, helping healthcare teams identify areas where support could help. The symposium emphasized listening to patients, as healthcare professionals may underestimate symptom severity. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) can help healthcare teams and researchers understand the impact of myeloma and its treatments more fully.
We also heard how, as treatments become increasingly effective, health-related quality of life and PROMs will become increasingly important in clinical trials. We want to see clinical trials place greater emphasis on what matters to patients, including symptoms, side effects and how treatments affect everyday life, particularly when treatments offer similar levels of disease control.
Blood tests for diagnosing and monitoring myeloma
There was a lot of interest in new blood-based technologies for diagnosing and monitoring myeloma. Many aspects of disease monitoring, including assessing treatment response and minimal residual disease (MRD), currently involve collecting a bone marrow sample through a biopsy. People living with myeloma can have negative experiences of bone marrow biopsies, so there is interest in whether blood-based approaches could make monitoring easier and improve quality of life.
Several approaches are being studied, including looking for circulating tumour cells, using mass spectrometry to detect very small amounts of paraprotein, and analysing circulating tumour DNA. These techniques may help detect very small amounts of disease, assess risk and monitor treatment response. However, most blood-based approaches are not yet ready to replace bone marrow testing, which remains the gold standard test.
Preventing infections and side effects
A key message from the meeting was that infection risk changes over time and is different for different treatments. Rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach, healthcare teams are increasingly looking at how immune function, blood counts and other risk factors can be used to tailor infection prevention to each person.
There was also discussion about whether adjusting treatment schedules, including reducing how often some treatments are given or using fixed-duration treatment, could reduce the risk of infections and other side effects while maintaining treatment benefits.
Developments in myeloma treatment
Treatment developments were another important part of the meeting, with new results highlighting advances in both relapsed/refractory and newly diagnosed myeloma. Of note:
The CERVINO clinical trial showed that the investigational bispecific antibody etentamig improved response rates and helped people stay free from worsening myeloma for longer, compared with standard available treatments in people whose myeloma had already been exposed to three major classes of treatment. The treatment was given once every four weeks, which is more convenient for patients than the more frequent dosing schedules used for some other bispecific antibodies. Watch our interview explaining the outcomes of the CERVINO clinical trial.
The EXCALIBER-RRMM clinical trial found that iberdomide, a newer type of immunomodulatory drug, combined with daratumumab and dexamethasone led to deeper responses than daratumumab, bortezomib and dexamethasone in people with relapsed or refractory myeloma. There were more problems with low levels of neutrophils (neutropenia) and infections with the iberdomide combination, but nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy) was less common. Watch our interview explaining the EXCALIBER-RRMM clinical trial.
MPE at IMS
We were pleased to share MPE’s research at the meeting:
We presented a poster on how myeloma clinical trials can better include people from groups that are often underrepresented in research. It is important that clinical trials include the wide range of people affected by myeloma, so that new treatments work well for different people and communities and can be trusted by those who use them. Our research found that many approaches to making clinical research more inclusive were developed in the US. While these have often focused on improving inclusion across different ethnic groups, other factors that can affect someone’s opportunity to take part, such as mental health and their ability to give informed consent have received less attention. The approaches may therefore need to be adapted to ensure they are relevant to patients across Europe.
We also took part in the first ever patient group session at IMS, where we had the opportunity to share MPE’s priorities and our work to improve access to treatment and care across Europe, alongside other international patient organisations. We are grateful to the IMS for creating opportunities for patient organisations to be part of these discussions. As MPE Co-CEO Kate Morgan said during the meeting:
“We need to be working not just with other patient organisations but also with the IMS, industry and academic groups to tackle the shared challenges in myeloma and to bring the innovation we’ve seen this weekend to patients globally.”
Looking ahead
For MPE, the important question is not only what new treatments can achieve, but also what the experience of receiving those treatments is like for patients. Treatments need to be effective, but they also need to fit into people’s lives, support quality of life and be accessible to the people who need them.
If you have any questions or comments about IMS 2026, please contact info@mpeurope.org