The patients and team at the Myeloma Center are involved in a number of clinical trials to help advance the field so that the goal of finding a cure for myeloma can be achieved. The clinical trial protocols available are a mixture of investigator-initiated trials (i.e. Cornell-specific), pharmaceutical studies, and myeloma collaborative studies (i.e. multi-institutional). Clinical trials are often referred to as Phase 1 (the drug is being used in people for the first time, thus different doses and schedules of dosing are being tested), Phase 2 (the drug dose has been defined, but efficacy needs to be established), or Phase 3 (the new drug is being compared to the older established standard of care to see if it is, in fact, better).
Currently active clinical trials are divided into those for upfront (1st line therapy) and those for patients with relapsed or progressive myeloma that is not responding to standard therapies.