A British blood cancer charity says it is to focus its funding on the search for a functional cure for myeloma.
Myeloma UK, which hopes to raise £5 million for innovative research over the next five years, says it will not make the search for an ‘absolute cure’ for the disease its central goal. Instead, it will prioritise the search for a ‘functional cure’, where myeloma cells may still be detectable but the condition is controlled for long periods.
The new Research Strategy, unveiled this week, says the charity will give priority to quality of life for patients, with personalisation playing a key role in the treatments and care it wants to see developed.
The charity says it also wants to put funding towards prevention of myeloma, seeking an improved understanding of the conditions that precede the disease. It wants to help ensure new treatments gain rapid approval on the NHS – and is working with the University of Leeds on the design of trials to achieve this objective.
Myeloma UK’s director of research and advocacy Shelagh McKinlay said: “Central to the strategy is the balance between achieving better outcomes for people in the future, with the need to deliver change now, creating better and longer lives for people living with myeloma today. That is why we are looking at new ways to a cure. We have committed to dedicated research towards a functional cure for the first time, as well as approaching an absolute cure in partnership with others.
“We want to see a personalised pathway for everyone with myeloma. The research strategy supports work that will change outcomes around treatment burden, supportive care, and psychological support. That means fewer side effects, less treatment to deliver the same or better outcomes and more help with the emotional toll that myeloma takes.”
Myeloma UK chief executive Dr Sophie Castell said: “The research strategy is about more than increasing survival times – it is all about giving good years back to people affected by myeloma and their families. Our holistic approach will fund research that seeks to deliver tangible benefits to people today, as well as investing in clinical outcomes in the future. We’re building a vision of a new gold standard of treatment and care across research, clinical trials, and supportive care services.”
Source: Myeloma UK
Link: https://www.myeloma.org.uk/library/myeloma-uk-research-strategy-2025/
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