Doris K. Hansen, MD, an associate member in the Department of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy at Moffitt Cancer Center, will lead an MTP session on immunotherapy trials today, September 9, at 8 AM.
What will your MTP session focus on?
My session will focus on the rapidly evolving immunotherapy landscape in multiple myeloma, as well as how we determine the next important questions to answer. I will highlight key advances with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies and bispecific antibodies, as well as emerging approaches, including dual-targeted, allogeneic, and in vivo CAR T-cell therapies and trispecific antibodies.
Importantly, we will also discuss how partnerships among investigators, patient advocacy groups, and industry can help shape research priorities and move the field forward. Clinical trials provide the foundation for new therapies, but real-world studies are increasingly important for understanding how these treatments perform in broader patient populations and for answering questions that may not be addressed in registration trials.
Ultimately, the session will highlight how clinical trials and real-world evidence can complement one another and how collaboration can help identify and address the questions that matter most to patients.
How does an MTP session compare with a general session at the meeting?
This will be my first time leading an MTP session at SOHO, and I am really looking forward to the format. Rather than a formal presentation, it will be more interactive and discussion-based. Because it’s a smaller group, there is more opportunity for questions, open discussion, and personalized interaction. I think it provides a great setting not only to review the latest data, but also to discuss where the field is going and what questions we should be asking next.
Inside the Mind of Dr. Hansen
What is one thing that makes your clinical day better?
Giving good news to my patients. There is nothing better than being able to say, “The CAR-T worked,” or hearing a patient say, “Sometimes I forget I even have multiple myeloma.” Those moments are incredibly rewarding. I also love working alongside the wonderful nurses, APPs, research staff, and colleagues who take care of our patients with me. They make the busy clinical days so much better. Before I even get to work, getting some extra love from my five- and three-year-olds always starts my day right. My son currently thinks mama is his hero, and I am enjoying that for as long as it lasts!
You’ve been kidnapped for your hematology expertise. Your captors give you a choice: become the personal hematologist for a colony of vampires or a pack of werewolves. Who are you treating?
Definitely the vampires. As a hematologist, I feel like I have been training for this my entire career! Although I suspect “transfusion independence” would not be one of our treatment goals.
What is the last great book you have read or movie you have watched?
One book that has stayed with me is “When Breath Becomes Air.” It is a beautifully written reflection on medicine, mortality, and what gives life meaning, and it resonated with me personally because I lost my mother to lung cancer far too young. I first read it several years ago, but it remains one of the most memorable books I have read.
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