2-Minute Drill: Shameless Plug From ASH 2023
Joshua Richter, MD, of Mount Sinai, and other hematologic cancer experts join CancerNetwork following the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition to provide shameless plugs from this year's conference.
Richter: Now, before I mentioned that we encourage you to talk about yourselves, and I know that's difficult for some of you. But before we close out the day, 1 minute each, please give us your shameless plug from the meeting. The higher you boast, the more points you get—something you presented, something you did, or something for the future. But it has got to focus on you. Dr Usmani, I can think of no one better to start with than you, sir.
Usmani: Alright, so this was a big ASH for me personally. Because of personal reasons, I wasn't here—I had to leave ASH last year. But, it was really gratifying to see so many members of the myeloma service and our fellows presenting. The big highlight of the meeting for me was being in a translational oral session, and 2 of my fellows presenting oral presentations there. Both presenting in wonderful fashion and on on topics that are very relevant to moving the field forward in understanding mechanisms of resistance with the BCMA and GPRC5D therapies. So for me, personally, it was gratifying to see all the hard work coming through for the [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center] myeloma team, and for all my junior colleagues and my fellows doing well at this meeting.
Richter: [Memorial] Sloan Kettering has one of the leading myeloma centers in the world. I could not agree more; one of our fellows had oral abstracts and sitting there in the room is quite amazing. I love the answer—20 points. Dr Faiman, to you. Please boast about yourself.
Faiman: This was 20 years since my first ASH meeting; I know I looked very young, but I'm not. I thought that the getting together with colleagues before and after and seeing myself from 20 years ago—me who was too afraid to join ASH because I'm a nurse practitioner. I have a PhD, but I'm a nurse practitioner. So, for me to have 8 named abstracts, and 2 fellows and 3 staff that are presenting on papers, was just a huge accomplishment for me, and a recognition of that providers like myself, advanced practice nurses, and physician assistants play a key role in the management of patients and to be recognized by ASH now as a member for the last 10 years, having all these papers and then getting together and celebrating with colleagues that I don't get to see but once every year or 2 was really special.
Richter: You continue to be an inspiration to us all. I can't actually tell you the number of times during the week where our own nurse practitioners will boast about you. I'm giving you a big 20 on that one. Doctor Matous, to you sir.
Matous: Clearly, the best abstract presented at the meeting was Monday at the very end of the myeloma session by yours truly. It was a MonumenTAL-2 trial looking at 1 arm combining talquetamab and pomalidomide, and think about all the different partners that pomalidomide has had. It's pretty promiscuous, right? Daratumamab, isatuximab, carfilozmib, etc. But the best data by far, far, far and away are when you pair it with talquetamab in this situation. [It showed] very high response rate, very high complete response rates, good tolerability, and even effective in patients with [extramedullary], high-risk cytogenetics and so forth, and I had to present after Ajai Chari, MD, and Paul Richardson, MD. So it was all I could do not to work splendid or spectacular into my presentation, but I avoided it. I think I kept everybody awake at the last session on a Monday evening, which is no small feat.
Richter: Obviously, you did a monumentally amazing job; you are an absolute leader in the world. I will put you above Paul and Ajai, as long as they don't hear about it. But I couldn't agree more—a great combo data with talquetamab and pomalidomide—20 points to you, sir.
