Life expectancy has gone from two and a half years to almost ten years. Immunotherapy is changing treatment, allowing patients a good quality of life, with fewer hospital stays
For years the word “cancer” was unpronounceable. Until just over ten years ago, it was preferred to use “bad illness” or “long illness”, as if to exorcise a diagnosis that left little room for hope. Today, tumors are increasingly treatable and, together with the therapies, the language has also changed: it is not a random signal, but the mirror of a transformation made possible by research, even for those forms that once seemed to have no future. In 2025, approximately 390 thousand new cancer diagnoses are estimated in Italy, but the figure is accompanied by a decreasing trend and, above all, an overall drop of 9 percent in deaths in the last ten years. Numbers that tell of a new phase: not only in medicine, but also in the way we talk and think about cancer.
From 2015 to today, the life expectancy of those diagnosed with multiple myeloma went from two and a half years to almost ten years. And this means a lot for patients and their families: in Italy there are around six thousand 590 new cases, especially people over 70, slightly more men than women.
Multiple myeloma, what is it
«Sometimes it starts with a sharp pain in the bones or with severe back pain which does not recede with anti-inflammatories – he explains Alessandro Corsodirector of the Hematology Unit at Legnano Hospital. In some people, unexplained fractures, kidney problems, infections appear. – And he underlines – anemia is the alarm bell which must lead to in-depth diagnostic investigations.”
Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer with a profound impact on the lives of those affected. The disease originates in the bone marrow and targets plasma cells, white blood cells that are essential for the body’s defense against infections. When these cells undergo a genetic transformation, they begin to multiply out of control, altering the balance of the marrow and hindering the production of healthy cells. The consequences are often serious: anemia, clotting problems, increased vulnerability to infections and bone injuries. To complicate the picture, tumor plasma cells produce large quantities of abnormal antibodies, the so-called monoclonal proteins, which are useless for the immune system and potentially harmful to the body.
«Relapses in multiple myeloma they are not uncommon and each one is a little more serious – he explains Silvia Mangiacavalli, hematologist of the Hematology Unit of the IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo of Pavia. But ohToday, research advances have led us to have more therapies that we can prescribe and this has made us stop having a defeatist attitude. We treat elderly patients with the knowledge that we can administer therapies that can be well tolerated and also with a good quality of life for even long periods of time. A question we are often asked concerns the future: “My son or daughter is getting married next year, I hope I can see her.” Our answer in most cases is an unhesitating yes.”
New therapies
Immunotherapy is the new frontier of cancer treatment and in the case of multiple myeloma it must be able to both target myeloma cells and restore anti-tumor activity. Monoclonal antibodies were the first form of immunotherapy used for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Subsequently others were made available including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)such as belantamab mafodotin, approved by EMA and awaiting the conclusion of the AIFA regulatory process, which together give rise to a powerful oncolytic agent capable of conveying cytotoxins, otherwise not tolerable, directly onto the tumor cells where it is released. The advantage is that it is not only effective but also well tolerated.
«Multiple myeloma is not a single disease – he explains Silvia Mangiacavalli -, today we are able to extend patients’ lives and our goal is to be able to keep people out of hospital with a good quality of life and above all with the possibility of making plans for the future and realizing them.”
«The advancement of research has led us to very good results for patients – he explains Alessandro Corso – what we expect is to have long-term control of the disease and gain quality of life. Furthermore, one of the objectives we aim for is to reach the so-called MRD, minimal residual disease, in order to be able to suspend therapy. It has already happened in hematology and therefore it is not an unachievable dream.”
date:2026-02-09 13:59:00