The theme of this conference is “Toward the Next 50 Years: Shaping the Future of Myeloma Treatment Together.”

The 2025 Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Myeloma marks the 50th conference since the first Myeloma Research Group meeting was held in 1980, making it a significant milestone. It will also be the first time in about 20 years that the meeting will be held in Gunma Prefecture, since the 31st Annual Meeting in Ikaho in 2006 (President: Hirokazu Murakami).

Over the past five decades, treatment for myeloma has made remarkable progress, with the development and introduction of molecular-targeted drugs, antibody therapies including bispecific antibodies, and immunotherapies such as CAR-T cell therapy. These advances have raised hopes that myeloma, once considered an incurable disease, could potentially be cured in some cases. New analytical techniques, ranging from genomics to proteomics, single-cell analysis, and spatial omics, are helping to elucidate the nature of this refractory tumor and uncover new opportunities for treatment development. However, even with current advanced therapies, some myelomas still become resistant to treatment early on, and even though survival has been extended to 10 or 20 years, the results are not yet fully satisfying in today’s 100-year life era, where life expectancy continues to increase. These challenges remain to be addressed.

Recently, various societal changes, such as population decline, aging, rising costs of living, and high medical expenses, have also had an impact on the healthcare environment. It goes without saying that shaping the future of myeloma treatment cannot be achieved by the efforts of a single individual, organization, or country alone. The theme of this academic meeting emphasizes gathering, discussing, and creating new solutions.

At this conference, we aim to bring together not only physicians and researchers but also co-medical staff, as well as other essential stakeholders and players—pharmaceutical companies, regulatory authorities, patient representatives, and ARO/CROs—who will contribute to advancing treatment. We are also planning discussions between multi-center research groups from both Japan and abroad, which we hope will serve as a starting point for creating broader collaborations.

This year, we have received 113 abstracts, the largest number of submissions to date. Thank you for your many contributions. In order to truly emphasize the meaning and enjoyment of “coming together,” this conference will not only focus on discussions related to science and healthcare but will also feature a celebratory atmosphere and special events to mark the 50th anniversary. We hope you will join us and enjoy the experience.

We look forward to sharing this opportunity with hematologists, young physicians, researchers, pharmacists, nurses, medical professionals from the healthcare industry, graduate students, and everyone involved in myeloma care. Together, we will discuss the future of myeloma treatment as we look ahead to the next 50 years.