A McMaster University study that aims to improve care for Canadians living with a common type of blood cancer has received $4.9 million in support from Pfizer.

The EMBRACE study, coordinated through the Ontario Clinical Oncology Group, will study how adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) can safely receive treatment and care at home, with the aim to improve patient care and reduce pressure on Canada’s health systems.

Multiple myeloma is the second-most common type of blood cancer, with an estimated 11 Canadians diagnosed with myeloma every day. It is estimated that in 2023, 3,900 Canadians were diagnosed with multiple myeloma and 1,700 Canadians died from the disease.

“Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer which can cause significant morbidity and mortality,” says study lead Hira Mian, assistant professor in the department of Oncology at McMaster University and a hematologic oncologist at Hamilton Health Sciences.

Certain therapies require patients to be admitted to hospital to receive treatment, at least for the first few days.

“Our study will evaluate whether treatment can be delivered safely to patients at home, using remote patient monitoring as one of the measures.”

The technology available today allows physicians to keep a close watch on patients’ vitals from a distance, Mian says.

“Remote monitoring will help reduce the time patients spend travelling to treatment appointments and time in hospital, which can help improve their quality of life.”

Remote monitoring will also help reduce overall hospital appointments for patients and strain on the health care system, Mian says.

“Furthermore, because multiple myeloma patients are particularly susceptible to infection, the study will also examine how increasing the treatment dosing interval may help decrease the risk of infections.”

EMBRACE will launch in July at five sites across Canada: Hamilton, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. As part of the study protocol, correlative laboratory studies will also take place.

These will be performed in Calgary by the co-investigator of EMBRACE, Nizar Bahlis, a hematologic oncologist and associate professor at the University of Calgary.

“Multiple myeloma is a disease of high unmet need as patients often relapse and become refractory to successive and limited therapies,” says Andrew Brown, medical affairs lead, Oncology at Pfizer Canada.

“We are committed to supporting patients and the multiple myeloma community affected by this difficult disease, which is why we are proud to be partnering with Dr. Mian, Dr. Bahlis and McMaster University to advance research and our understanding in this space.”