A statement from IMS President, Philippe Moreau, after the IMS Myeloma Cure Summit: Definitions, Metrics, and Milestones

“For many years, multiple myeloma has been described as treatable but not curable. Today, scientific advances have brought us closer to defining what cure means. The depth and durability of responses we are now seeing, along with major progress in MRD testing and modern therapies, have moved the field to a point where we can see that cure exists, and examine how it should be defined.

At this Summit, leading clinicians, researchers, and patient advocates came together to review long-term data and discuss what evidence to define cure. The conversations were grounded in data, but there was also a clear sense that the field has entered a new phase.

For patients, remission has long been the goal. Cure goes further. Today, we recognize that a proportion of patients with myeloma are being cured. Cure means reaching a point where the disease is permanently eliminated, sustained by long-term clinical follow-up and supported by the most sensitive biological assessments available. We now have a framework to define when a patient can be declared cured — grounded in durable treatment-free survival, deep measurable residual disease negativity, and long-term outcome plateaus.

The extraordinary engagement and commitment across the global myeloma community make one thing clear: we are no longer debating whether cure is possible. We are defining it rigorously, measuring it precisely, and expanding the number of patients who can achieve it — with clarity, discipline, and real hope.”