Sundar Jagannath, MD, is chief of the Multiple Myeloma and Transplant Program at St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center (SVCCC) in New York City. A board-certified oncologist, Dr. Jagannath has practiced at SVCCC since 1998. He is also a professor of medicine at New York Medical College.

Dr. Jagannath received the Humanitarian Award from the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in May 2006, the third award he has received from the foundation. He was the recipient of the Humanitarian Award in 2003 and the Spirit of Hope Award in 2005.

Dr. Jagannath is editor in chief of Clinical Lymphoma & Myeloma and a peer reviewer for many other medical journals. In addition, his articles have appeared in numerous publications, including New England Journal of Medicine, Blood, Journal of Clinical Oncology, British Journal of Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplant, and Cancer. Dr. Jagannath is an active member of the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the American Society of Hematology.

Dr. Jagannath graduated from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda, India. He completed his residency in internal medicine at The Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Bronx, New York and Harper-Grace Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. He was awarded a fellowship in medical oncology from MD Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute, Houston, Texas.

Q&A with Sundar Jagannath, MD, Chief, Multiple Myeloma and Transplant Program

Open AllClose All

Q: Why did you choose to specialize in the treatment and research of multiple myeloma?

A: In the early 80's when I was finishing up my training in multiple myeloma at MD Anderson Cancer Center, transplantation was the cutting-edge science in oncology. I had the opportunity to stay on faculty at MD Anderson and participate in their transplant program. During that time, I became interested in this area of medicine. Early works of mine focused on lymphoma and Hodgkin disease. The high dose therapy and stem cell transplant regimen established during my time at MD Anderson is still the most widely used regimen. I also participated in international trials for lymphoma transplant, and subsequently went to University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as Chief of Transplantation. At that time, Dr. Bart Barlogie, considered one of the top doctors in the world for myeloma, moved from MD Anderson to UAMS. As a result, I started concentrating on myeloma.

Q: Do you think myeloma will soon become a curable disease?

A: I think the number of clinical trials that are being conducted is very exciting, and feel that multiple myeloma will become a curable cancer within the next five to ten years. SVCCC is participating in a number of these new drug trials and is helping to deliver promising new treatments to myeloma patients.

Q: Are there any new treatments and/or clinical trials that you're particularly excited about?

A: Yes, absolutely. SVCCC was a pioneer in treating newly diagnosed myeloma patients with Revlimid® and Velcade®, two drug protocols that are now standard care for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The FDA has approved using a combination of Revlimid and Velcade to treat myeloma patients who have relapsed. Currently, we are one of a few centers, along with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, participating in trials in which these two novel agents are used together in "newly diagnosed" multiple myeloma patients. We are hopeful these trials will show that Revlimid and Velcade used in combination, up-front, will lead to better outcomes for myeloma patients.

Antibody therapy is another exciting area of research. Antibodies are very specific, attacking only the malignant cells. Antibodies therapy has proven to be very successful in treating other B-cell malignancies, including lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinem. Myeloma is one disease in which we don't have antibodies to treat the cancer cells, so we are very excited about participating in some of the new antibody trials for myeloma.