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Elotuzumab plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone has shown improved progression-free and overall survival versus lenalidomide and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. We aimed to assess these regimens in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT).

Lenalidomide-dexamethasone (Rd) is standard treatment for elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM). In this randomized phase 3 study, we investigated efficacy and feasibility of dose/schedule-adjusted Rd followed by maintenance at 10 mg per day without dexamethasone (Rd-R) vs continuous Rd in elderly, intermediate-fit newly diagnosed patients with MM. Primary end point was event-free survival (EFS), defined as progression/death from any cause, lenalidomide discontinuation, or hematologic grade 4 or nonhematologic grade 3 to 4 adverse event (AE). Of 199 evaluable patients, 101 received Rd-R and 98 continuous Rd. Median follow-up was 37 months. EFS was 10.4 vs 6.9 months (hazard ratio [HR], 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-0.95; P = .02); median progression-free survival, 20.2 vs 18.3 months (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.55-1.10; P = .16); and 3-year overall survival, 74% vs 63% (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.37-1.03; P = .06) with Rd-R vs Rd, respectively. Rate of ≥1 nonhematologic grade ≥3 AE was 33% vs 43% (P = .14) in Rd-R vs Rd groups, with neutropenia (21% vs 18%), infections (10% vs 12%), and skin disorders (7% vs 3%) the most frequent; constitutional and central nervous system AEs mainly related to dexamethasone were more frequent with Rd. Lenalidomide was discontinued for AEs in 24% vs 30% and reduced in 45% vs 62% of patients receiving Rd-R vs Rd, respectively. In intermediate-fit patients, switching to reduced-dose lenalidomide maintenance without dexamethasone after 9 Rd cycles was feasible, with similar outcomes to standard continuous Rd. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02215980.

Lenalidomide-dexamethasone (Rd) is standard treatment for elderly patients with multiple myeloma (MM). In this randomized phase 3 study, we investigated efficacy and feasibility of dose/schedule-adjusted Rd followed by maintenance at 10 mg per day without dexamethasone (Rd-R) vs continuous Rd in elderly, intermediate-fit newly diagnosed patients with MM. Primary end point was event-free survival (EFS), defined as progression/death from any cause, lenalidomide discontinuation, or hematologic grade 4 or nonhematologic grade 3 to 4 adverse event (AE). Of 199 evaluable patients, 101 received Rd-R and 98 continuous Rd. Median follow-up was 37 months. EFS was 10.4 vs 6.9 months (hazard ratio [HR], 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51-0.95; P= .02); median progression-free survival, 20.2 vs 18.3 months (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.55-1.10; P= .16); and 3-year overall survival, 74% vs 63% (HR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.37-1.03; P= .06) with Rd-R vs Rd, respectively. Rate of ≥1 nonhematologic grade ≥3 AE was 33% vs 43% (P= .14) in Rd-R vs Rd groups, with neutropenia (21% vs 18%), infections (10% vs 12%), and skin disorders (7% vs 3%) the most frequent; constitutional and central nervous system AEs mainly related to dexamethasone were more frequent with Rd. Lenalidomide was discontinued for AEs in 24% vs 30% and reduced in 45% vs 62% of patients receiving Rd-R vs Rd, respectively. In intermediate-fit patients, switching to reduced-dose lenalidomide maintenance without dexamethasone after 9 Rd cycles was feasible, with similar outcomes to standard continuous Rd. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.govas #NCT02215980.

D'Agostino: GSK: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Waage:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy; Shire: Honoraria. Zamagni:Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Speakers Bureau; Celgene Corporation: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Speakers Bureau. Mateos:Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen-Cilag: Consultancy, Honoraria; PharmaMar-Zeltia: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Regeneron: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Abbvie/Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Larocca:Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Honoraria. van de Donk:Takeda: Other: Ad Board; Genentech: Other: Ad Board; Bayer: Other: Ad Board; BMS: Other: Ad Board, Research Funding; Amgen: Other: Ad Board, Research Funding; Celgene: Other: Ad Board, Research Funding; Novartis: Other: Ad Board; Janssen: Other: Ad Board, Research Funding. Cairns:Celgene, Amgen, Merck: Research Funding; Celgene: Other: Travel Support. Salwender:Takeda: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb/Celgene: Honoraria; Janssen-Cilag: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Oncopeptides: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria. Blade Creixenti:Oncopeptides: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Dürig:Janssen: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy. Bringhen:Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Consultancy; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Zweegman:Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Cavo:AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Goldschmidt:Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants and/or provision of Investigational Medicinal Product:, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants and/or provision of Investigational Medicinal Product:, Research Funding; Dietmar-Hopp-Foundation: Other: Grants and/or provision of Investigational Medicinal Product:; Molecular Partners: Research Funding; Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD): Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Johns Hopkins University: Other: Grants and/or provision of Investigational Medicinal Product; Chugai: Honoraria, Other: Grants and/or provision of Investigational Medicinal Product:, Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants and/or provision of Investigational Medicinal Product:, Research Funding; University Hospital Heidelberg, Internal Medicine V and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany: Current Employment; GlaxoSmithKline (GSK): Honoraria; Adaptive Biotechnology: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Grants and/or provision of Investigational Medicinal Product, Research Funding; Mundipharma GmbH: Research Funding; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other, Research Funding. Cook:Celgene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; IQVIA: Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy; Karyopharm: Consultancy. San-Miguel:Amgen, BMS, Celgene, Janssen, MSD, Novartis, Takeda, Sanofi, Roche, Abbvie, GlaxoSmithKline and Karyopharm: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Boccadoro:Sanofi: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Honoraria; Mundipharma: Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Sonneveld:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Skyline Dx: Honoraria, Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy.The presentation includes discussion of off-label use of a drug or drugs for the treatment of multiple myeloma.

Background.The Revised International Staging system (R-ISS) is the standard risk stratification model used for newly diagnosed (ND) multiple myeloma (MM) (Palumbo et al. JCO 2015). R-ISS identifies 3 groups of patients (pts) with different PFS and OS. However, 60% of pts are considered as intermediate-risk (R-ISS II), possibly including pts with different risk of progression/death. Recently, 1q copy number alterations (CNAs), which were not included in the R-ISS, proved to be a poor prognostic factor in NDMM pts.

ABSTRACTIntroductionThe overall survival of patients with multiple myeloma has improved with the advent of novel agents; however, multiple myeloma remains incurable. Combinations of standard-of-care agents such as immunomodulators, proteasome inhibitors, and anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies are increasingly used in earlier lines of therapy. Patients with disease that is refractory to multiple novel agents represent a population with high unmet medical need and for whom therapies with new mechanisms of action could be beneficial. Melphalan flufenamide (melflufen) has demonstrated encouraging activity in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.Areas coveredThis review provides an overview of the mechanism of action of melflufen, a first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate that targets aminopeptidases and rapidly delivers alkylating agents into tumor cells. It reviews key Phase I and II clinical trial data for melflufen in combination with dexamethasone as well as in triplet combinations with daratumumab or bortezomib. The safety profile of melflufen, which is characterized primarily by clinically manageable hematologic adverse events, is described.Expert opinionMelflufen has potential to fill a gap in the myeloma treatment landscape by providing a new mechanism of action with clinically meaningful efficacy and a favorable safety profile in patients refractory to multiple novel agents.

As the treatment landscape continues to evolve towards the application of precision medicine in multiple myeloma (MM), there is a clear need to identify those patients who are at risk of not achieving the maximum benefit whilst exposed to the highest level of toxicity. This group of patients, defined as frail, is an unmet clinical need. However, how we define such a vulnerable group of patients with MM remains to be clarified. An integral aspect of this is to define the physiological age and capacity of patients with MM to deal with the burden of their disease and it’s treatment. Such assessments may include not only functional and clinical assessments but also laboratory-based biomarkers of frailty, aging and senescent cellular burden. A need to develop, test and validate clinical screening scores before their adoption into clinical practice is mandated. This position paper from the European Myeloma Network aims to review what is known about defining frailty in MM, and how we can advance this knowledge for the design of clinical trials and ultimately how we deliver treatment in the clinic.

Background. Before the recent introduction of daratumumab (Dara) in the frontline setting, lenalidomide-dexamethasone (Rd) has represented a standard of care for transplant-ineligible (NTE), patients (pts) with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). Nonetheless, minimal residual disease negativity (MRD Neg) rate and median progression-free survival (PFS) with Rd were still relatively limited, as compared with 3/4-drug regimens, also including carfilzomib (K). The EMN20 trial (NCT04096066) is a randomized, multicenter study designed to compare weekly K in addition to Rd (KRd) with Rd in fit or intermediate-fit NTE NDMM pts, with the objective of attaining improved rates of PFS and 2-year MRD Neg through a triplet regimen.

INTRODUCTION:Anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody (MoAb)-based treatment (e.g. daratumumab), especially when used in combination, have significantly improved the outcomes in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). However, despite the good results with this combination, a notable fraction of patients inevitably experiences relapse.

Introduction

Pomalidomide and dexamethasone is a standard of care for patients with multiple myeloma in whom bortezomib and lenalidomide treatment has failed. KEYNOTE-183 assessed efficacy and safety of pomalidomide and dexamethasone with or without pembrolizumab in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Here, we present the findings of an unplanned, ad-hoc interim analysis at the request of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Lenalidomide and dexamethasone has been a standard of care in transplant-ineligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The addition of a third drug to the combination is likely to improve treatment efficacy. KEYNOTE-185 assessed the efficacy and safety of lenalidomide and dexamethasone with and without pembrolizumab in patients with previously untreated multiple myeloma. Here, we present the results of an unplanned interim analysis done to assess the benefit–risk of the combination at the request of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Background:In patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), 29%-59% have high-risk (HR) cytogenetic abnormalities that are associated with poor treatment outcomes (Kumar et al. Leukemia.2017;31:2443; Gandhi et al. Leukemia.2019;33:2266). Melphalan flufenamide (melflufen) is a first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) that targets aminopeptidases and rapidly releases alkylating agents into tumor cells. Melflufen plus dexamethasone (dex) showed clinically meaningful efficacy and a manageable safety profile in patients with heavily pretreated and poor-risk RRMM in the phase 2 HORIZON study (OP-106; NCT02963493; Richardson et al. EHA 2020. Abs. EP945). The overall response rate (ORR) was 29%, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 4.2 months, and median overall survival (OS) was 11.6 months. The most common nonhematologic grade 3/4 adverse event (AE) was pneumonia (10%). This is an analysis of the cytogenetic profile and a comparison of the efficacy for patients with and without HR cytogenetic abnormalities in the HORIZON study.

Background:EMD is characterized by a subclone of aggressive MM cells that thrive and grow independent of the bone marrow microenvironment and is often associated with poor-risk features including high-risk cytogenetics, increased proliferation, evasion of apoptosis, and resistance to therapies in MM (Bladé et al. J Clin Oncol. 2011;29:3805; Deng et al. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk.2015;15:286). Prognosis for pts with EMD is poor, particularly in the RRMM setting. Additionally, prognosis is usually poorer for pts with hematogenous-spread soft-tissue plasmacytomas than for those with bone-related plasmacytomas (Gagelmann et al. Haematologica.2018;103:890; Mangiacavalli et al. Ann Hematol. 2017;96:73). No standard therapy has been established for this high-unmet need population (Usmani et al. Blood.2016;128:37; Jimenez-Segura et al. Eur J Haematol.2019;102:389), and outcomes are considerably worse than those for pts without EMD; for example, a recent analysis of isatuximab + pomalidomide + dex showed a median progression free survival (PFS) of 4.6 mo vs 11.5 mo in the total population (Beksac et al. EHA 2020. Abs. EP978).

Background:Patients with RRMM receive multiple lines of therapy in their disease course and often become refractory to or are intolerant of newer approved therapies (eg, IMiDs, anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody [mAb] therapy, proteasome inhibitors [PIs]), limiting effective treatment options (Kumar et al. Leukemia.2017; 31:2443). Efficacy outcomes decrease with each line of therapy, showing a need for agents with novel mechanisms of action to improve treatment responses and survival outcomes (Gandhi et al. Leukemia.2019;33:2266).

Background:Advances in therapy have improved outcomes in multiple myeloma (MM), but enhancement in overall survival (OS) has resulted in patients living with the burden of symptoms and complications of relapsed/refractory MM (RRMM) and prior lines of therapy (Vogl et al. Leuk Lymphoma.2018;59:398; Kumar et al. Leukemia. 2017;31:2443). Elderly patients represent a particularly difficult-to-treat population with RRMM due to the additional presence of comorbidities, reduced fitness level, and treatment with concomitant medications (Larocca et al. Leukemia.2018;32:1697). There is an unmet need for efficacious and convenient treatment options with manageable side effects to optimize tolerability for elderly patients with RRMM. Melphalan flufenamide (melflufen) is a first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) that targets aminopeptidases and rapidly releases alkylating agents into tumor cells. In the phase 2 HORIZON study (OP-106; NCT02963493), melflufen plus dexamethasone (dex) demonstrated encouraging efficacy and a clinically manageable safety profile in patients with heavily pretreated RRMM (Richardson et al. EHA 2020. Abs. EP945). This analysis examines the efficacy and safety of melflufen plus dex in the subset of patients aged ≥75 years in the HORIZON study.

Nadeem: Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES. Richardson:Celgene/BMS, Oncopeptides, Takeda, Karyopharm: Research Funding. Mateos:Adaptive: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Regeneron: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Oriol:GlaxoSmithKline: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy. Larocca:GSK: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Blade Creixenti:Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Rodríguez-Otero:Celgene/Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company); GlaxoSmithKline: Consultancy, Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Oncopeptides: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy; Kite: Consultancy; Medscape: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company). Leleu:Oncopeptide: Honoraria; Karyopharm: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; GSK: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; BMS-celgene: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria; Carsgen: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Merck: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria. Hassoun:Novartis: Consultancy; Takeda: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding. Touzeau:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Sanofi: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses. Amor:GSK: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene-BMS: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Maisel:Texas Oncology: Current Employment; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Texas Oncology: Current Employment; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Mazumder:Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; The Oncology Institute: Current Employment. Raptis:UPMC: Current Employment; INTEGRA: Consultancy, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES. Puig:BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; CELGENE: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; AMGEN: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding; THE BINDING SITE: Consultancy, Honoraria; JANSSEN: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding; TAKEDA: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding. Sandberg:Oncopeptides AB: Current Employment; Novo Nordisk AS: Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months, Ended employment in the past 24 months. Pelaez:Märsta Läkarhus AB: Ended employment in the past 24 months; Oncopeptides: Consultancy. Jaques:Pharma Biotech Consultants: Consultancy; Oncopeptides: Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Pfizer: Consultancy; Morphosys AG: Consultancy; Oncopeptides: Ended employment in the past 24 months. Orre:Oncopeptides: Current Employment. Cavo:GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau.This is phase 2 investigational study of melflufen in RRMM.

Background:With advances in therapy, outcomes have generally improved for pts with MM; however, pts with late-stage RRMM have limited treatment options and poor outcomes (Kumar et al. Leukemia.2017;31:2443; Gandhi et al. Leukemia. 2019;33:2266). Pts with late-stage RRMM, often older and having comorbidities, require efficacious and tolerable therapies to maintain HRQoL (Richardson et al. Blood.2019;134[suppl 1]:3487).

Larocca: Amgen: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Honoraria; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Richardson:Celgene/BMS, Oncopeptides, Takeda, Karyopharm: Research Funding. Oriol:Janssen: Consultancy; GlaxoSmithKline: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Blade Creixenti:Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Cavo:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Rodríguez-Otero:Janssen, BMS: Other: Travel, accommodations, expenses; BMS, Janssen, Amgen: Honoraria; Janssen, BMS, AbbVie, Sanofi, GSK, Oncopeptides, Kite, Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene-BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Mundipharma: Research Funding. Leleu:Amgen: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Oncopeptide: Honoraria; Carsgen: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Merck: Honoraria; Karyopharm: Honoraria; GSK: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; BMS-celgene: Honoraria. Nadeem:Adaptive: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Hassoun:Celgene: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy. Touzeau:Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses. Amor:Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene-BMS: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; GSK: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Maisel:Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Texas Oncology: Current Employment; Karyopharm: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Texas Oncology: Current Employment; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Mazumder:Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; The Oncology Institute: Current Employment; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Raptis:INTEGRA: Consultancy, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; UPMC: Current Employment. Puig:JANSSEN: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding; THE BINDING SITE: Consultancy, Honoraria; AMGEN: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding; BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; CELGENE: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; TAKEDA: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding. Thuresson:Statisticon: Current Employment; Oncopeptides: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Harmenberg:Oncopeptides AB: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Ultupharma AB: Current equity holder in private company; Medivir AB: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Gustavsson:PiezoMotor AB: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Sangus Jazz AB: Current equity holder in private company; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months; Celgene: Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months; XSpray AB: Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months; Vinnova: Honoraria; Episurf AB: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Nanexa AB: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides AB: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Mateos:GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; AbbVie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Regeneron: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.This is a phase 2 investigational study of melflufen in RRMM.

Multiple myeloma is a disease typical of the elderly, and, because of the increase in life expectancy of the general population, its incidence is expected to grow in the future. Elderly patients represent a particular challenge due to their marked heterogeneity. Many new and highly effective drugs have been introduced in the last few years and results from clinical trials are promising. Besides the availability of novel agents, a careful evaluation of elderly patients showed to be a key factor for the success of therapy. A geriatric assessment is a valid strategy to better stratify patients. In particular, different scores are available today to appropriately assess elderly patients and define their fitness/frailty status. The choice of treatment—transplantation, triplets, doublets, or reduced-dose therapies including novel agents—should depend on the patient’s fitness status (fit, intermediate-fit or frail). Second-generation novel agents have also been evaluated as salvage therapy in the elderly, and these new agents certainly represent a further step forward in the treatment armamentarium for elderly patients with multiple myeloma.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell disorder that represents the second most frequent hematologic cancer. Although MM is still an incurable disease, prognosis has improved in the last decades thanks to the introduction of novel agents such as proteasome inhibitors (PIs), immunomodulatory drugs, monoclonal antibodies, and histone deacetylase inhibitors.Areas covered: ixazomib is the first oral PI recently approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicine Agency (EMA) in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone as salvage therapy in MM patients. In this paper, we focus on its pharmacokinetics features, as well as its safety and efficacy in clinical studies.Expert opinion: ixazomib can be considered an oral analogue of bortezomib, with 9.5-day half-life, 58% of oral bioavailability, and a large distribution volume of 543L. These features make it a versatile molecule, potentially useful both in combination and as single agent. Oral route of administration and good efficacy/safety profile are its winning characteristics, providing the rationale for a future role also in the maintenance setting.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable disease characterized by clonal plasma cell proliferation and overproduction of monoclonal paraprotein, hypercalcemia, renal failure, anemia, osteolytic bone lesions, and infections.Melphalan, a nitrogen mustard, is an alkylating agent synthesized in 1953, and it has been used in multiple myeloma therapy for fifty years. Although novel agents have been introduced in the past few decades improving prognosis of the disease, melphalan still maintains a crucial role in the treatment of MM acting both as cytotoxic agent through damage to DNA, and as immunostimulatory drug by inhibiting Interleukin-6, as well as interaction with dendritic cells, and immunogenic effects in tumor microenvironment.Areas covered: This review focuses on available data about melphalan pharmacology and its role in clinical practice.Expert opinion: Melphalan remains crucial in therapy of multiple myeloma because of its good manageability, safety profile, efficacy, and economic sustainability. These characteristics make it pivotal also for new regimens in combination with novel agents.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy characterized by proliferation of malignant plasma cells. patient outcome has improved markedly over the last decades due to the introduction of novel therapeutic agents such as bortezomib, thalidomide and lenalidomide. However, MM still remains largely incurable and patients eventually become refractory to available treatments. To address this unmet medical need, a variety of new molecules are currently being developed in preclinical models and/or are being investigated in clinical studies.Areas covered: We summarized available data on new investigational drugs showing anti-myeloma single-agent activity and that might have a role in the future therapeutic armamentarium against MM. Besides their single-agent activity, the synergic potential of these new agents with the currently approved drugs will be pivotal in their integration into consolidated MM backbone therapies. The drugs discussed include alkylators, new proteasome inhibitors, novel anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies, Bcl-2 inhibitors, Cyclin-Dependent-Kinase inhibitor, Kinesin-spindle protein inhibitors, MEK1/2 inhibitors, AKT inhibitors and PIM-Kinase inhibitors.Expert opinion: Isatuximab, oprozomib, melflufen, venetoclax and filanesib seem to be the most promising agents with single agent activity. Nevertheless, lack of clinical activity as single agent does not imply clinical inefficacy in combination treatments.

Multiple myeloma is a disease typical of elderly people, with a median age at diagnosis of 70 years. Much progress has been made in the past few years thanks to the introduction of new drugs. However, increases in survival were much less pronounced in patients aged 60 to 69 years, and no improvement was seen in older patients. Furthermore, the currently approved treatment regimens were tested in clinical trials with stringent inclusion criteria. Aging is associated with a high prevalence of frailty, that is, a state of increased vulnerability to stressors due to a critical decline in physiologic reserves. Elderly people may be categorized as fit or frail according to clinical, functional, cognitive, and socioeconomic criteria. The presence of frailty may complicate the management and outcome of myeloma patients. To date, the choice of treatment of myeloma patients has focused primarily on chronological age and performance status as markers of frailty. However, the elderly population is highly heterogeneous, and improved assessment strategies are needed to define the frailty profile of patients and provide them with the most adequate treatment, thus avoiding the overtreatment of frail patients and the undertreatment of fit patients. The geriatric assessment is a fundamental tool for the evaluation of cognitive and functional status.

Multiple myeloma is a disease typical of elderly people, with a median age at diagnosis of 70 years. Much progress has been made in the past few years thanks to the introduction of new drugs. However, increases in survival were much less pronounced in patients aged 60 to 69 years, and no improvement was seen in older patients. Furthermore, the currently approved treatment regimens were tested in clinical trials with stringent inclusion criteria. Aging is associated with a high prevalence of frailty, that is, a state of increased vulnerability to stressors due to a critical decline in physiologic reserves. Elderly people may be categorized as fit or frail according to clinical, functional, cognitive, and socioeconomic criteria. The presence of frailty may complicate the management and outcome of myeloma patients. To date, the choice of treatment of myeloma patients has focused primarily on chronological age and performance status as markers of frailty. However, the elderly population is highly heterogeneous, and improved assessment strategies are needed to define the frailty profile of patients and provide them with the most adequate treatment, thus avoiding the overtreatment of frail patients and the undertreatment of fit patients. The geriatric assessment is a fundamental tool for the evaluation of cognitive and functional status.

We conducted a pooled analysis of 869 individual newly diagnosed elderly patient data from 3 prospective trials. At diagnosis, a geriatric assessment had been performed. An additive scoring system (range 0-5), based on age, comorbidities, and cognitive and physical conditions, was developed to identify 3 groups: fit (score = 0, 39%), intermediate fitness (score = 1, 31%), and frail (score ≥2, 30%). The 3-year overall survival was 84% in fit, 76% in intermediate-fitness (hazard ratio [HR], 1.61; P = .042), and 57% in frail (HR, 3.57; P < .001) patients. The cumulative incidence of grade ≥3 nonhematologic adverse events at 12 months was 22.2% in fit, 26.4% in intermediate-fitness (HR, 1.23; P = .217), and 34.0% in frail (HR, 1.74; P < .001) patients. The cumulative incidence of treatment discontinuation at 12 months was 16.5% in fit, 20.8% in intermediate-fitness (HR, 1.41; P = .052), and 31.2% in frail (HR, 2.21; P < .001) patients. Our frailty score predicts mortality and the risk of toxicity in elderly myeloma patients. The International Myeloma Working group proposes this score for the measurement of frailty in designing future clinical trials. These trials are registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01093196 (EMN01), #NCT01190787 (26866138MMY2069), and #NCT01346787 (IST-CAR-506).

We conducted a pooled analysis of 869 individual newly diagnosed elderly patient data from 3 prospective trials. At diagnosis, a geriatric assessment had been performed. An additive scoring system (range 0-5), based on age, comorbidities, and cognitive and physical conditions, was developed to identify 3 groups: fit (score = 0, 39%), intermediate fitness (score = 1, 31%), and frail (score ≥2, 30%). The 3-year overall survival was 84% in fit, 76% in intermediate-fitness (hazard ratio [HR], 1.61; P= .042), and 57% in frail (HR, 3.57; P< .001) patients. The cumulative incidence of grade ≥3 nonhematologic adverse events at 12 months was 22.2% in fit, 26.4% in intermediate-fitness (HR, 1.23; P= .217), and 34.0% in frail (HR, 1.74; P< .001) patients. The cumulative incidence of treatment discontinuation at 12 months was 16.5% in fit, 20.8% in intermediate-fitness (HR, 1.41; P= .052), and 31.2% in frail (HR, 2.21; P< .001) patients. Our frailty score predicts mortality and the risk of toxicity in elderly myeloma patients. The International Myeloma Working group proposes this score for the measurement of frailty in designing future clinical trials. These trials are registered at www.clinicaltrials.govas #NCT01093196 (EMN01), #NCT01190787 (26866138MMY2069), and #NCT01346787 (IST-CAR-506).

This multicenter, open-label phase 2 trial determined the safety and efficacy of carfilzomib, a novel and irreversible proteasome inhibitor, in combination with cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (CCyd) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) ≥65 years of age or who were ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation. Patients (N = 58) received CCyd for up to 9 28-day cycles, followed by maintenance with carfilzomib until progression or intolerance. After a median of 9 CCyd induction cycles (range 1-9), 95% of patients achieved at least a partial response, 71% achieved at least a very good partial response, 49% achieved at least a near complete response, and 20% achieved stringent complete response. After a median follow-up of 18 months, the 2-year progression-free survival and overall survival rates were 76% and 87%, respectively. The most frequent grade 3 to 5 toxicities were neutropenia (20%), anemia (11%), and cardiopulmonary adverse events (7%). Peripheral neuropathy was limited to grades 1 and 2 (9%). Fourteen percent of patients discontinued treatment because of adverse events, and 21% of patients required carfilzomib dose reductions. In summary, results showed high complete response rates and a good safety profile. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01346787.

This multicenter, open-label phase 2 trial determined the safety and efficacy of carfilzomib, a novel and irreversible proteasome inhibitor, in combination with cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (CCyd) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) ≥65 years of age or who were ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation. Patients (N = 58) received CCyd for up to 9 28-day cycles, followed by maintenance with carfilzomib until progression or intolerance. After a median of 9 CCyd induction cycles (range 1-9), 95% of patients achieved at least a partial response, 71% achieved at least a very good partial response, 49% achieved at least a near complete response, and 20% achieved stringent complete response. After a median follow-up of 18 months, the 2-year progression-free survival and overall survival rates were 76% and 87%, respectively. The most frequent grade 3 to 5 toxicities were neutropenia (20%), anemia (11%), and cardiopulmonary adverse events (7%). Peripheral neuropathy was limited to grades 1 and 2 (9%). Fourteen percent of patients discontinued treatment because of adverse events, and 21% of patients required carfilzomib dose reductions. In summary, results showed high complete response rates and a good safety profile. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.govas #NCT01346787.

Mina: Amgen: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Larocca:GSK: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Corradini:KiowaKirin: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other; BMS: Other; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; Incyte: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Honoraria. Liberati:CELGENE: Honoraria; BIOPHARMA: Honoraria; ARCHIGEN: Honoraria; BEIGENE: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; AMGEN: Honoraria; FIBROGEN: Honoraria; INCYTE: Honoraria; VERASTEM: Honoraria, Research Funding; ROCHE: Honoraria, Research Funding; PFIZER: Honoraria, Research Funding; ONCOPEPTIDES AB: Honoraria, Research Funding; TAKEDA: Honoraria, Research Funding; MORPHOSYS: Honoraria, Research Funding; ONCONOVA: Honoraria, Research Funding; ABBVIE: Honoraria, Research Funding; NOVARTIS: Honoraria, Research Funding; KARYOPHARM: Honoraria, Research Funding; JANSSEN: Honoraria. Zambello:Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Belotti:Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jannsen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Boccadoro:Sanofi: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Honoraria; Mundipharma: Research Funding; GlaxoSmithKline: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Bringhen:Takeda: Consultancy; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Karyopharm: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.The presentation includes discussion of off-label use of a drug or drugs for the treatment of multiple myeloma (including ixazomib, dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide, thalidomide and bendamustine).

INTRODUCTION.Elderly patients (pts) with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) are a heterogeneous population. The IMWG frailty score stratifies pts ≥65 years into 3 categories (fit, intermediate-fit and frail), according to chronological age, comorbidities and functional abilities, with different prognosis. We previously reported results from the phase II EMN10-Unito study investigating 4 Ixazomib-based induction regimens followed by Ixazomib maintenance in elderly NDMM pts. Here we present a post-hoc analysis of safety and efficacy of ixazomib-based induction regimens and maintenance according to IMWG frailty score.

Background. High-dose melphalan followed by autologous stem cell transplantation is a standard of care in transplant-eligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) patients and is also an option at relapse. Therefore, since the minimum number of CD34+ cells required to ensure adequate bone marrow recovery after myeloablative chemotherapy is 2x10^6/kg, an adequate upfront stem-cell collection is necessary in MM patients. Approximately 5-15% of MM patients mobilized with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) or G-CSF+cyclophosphamide (G-CSF/CY) fail stem-cell collection (<2x10^6/kg CD34+). Plerixafor in combination with G-CSF or G-CSF/CY increases stem-cell yield and lowers the rate of poor mobilizers (PM). Here we present preliminary results of the prospective, observational MOZOBL06877 study (partially supported by Sanofi investigation funds) to evaluate the performance of stem-cell mobilization with G-CSF/CY plus on-demand plerixafor in NDMM patients treated with novel agents.

Background:Current treatments for MM consist of multidrug regimens combining a variety of drug classes including IMiDs, proteasome inhibitors (PIs), monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), alkylators, XP01 inhibitors, histone deacetylase inhibitors, and corticosteroids. Despite advances in therapy, outcomes remain poor for pts with RRMM. Melphalan flufenamide (melflufen) is a first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) that targets aminopeptidases and rapidly releases alkylating agents into tumor cells. In the pivotal, phase 2 HORIZON study (NCT02963493), melflufen plus dex showed meaningful efficacy and a safety profile characterized primarily by clinically manageable hematologic adverse events (AEs) in heavily pretreated and poor-risk pts with RRMM (Richardson et al. EHA 2020. Abs. EP945). Preclinical data show that melflufen is 50-fold more potent than melphalan against MM cells due to an increased intracellular alkylator concentration (Wickstrom et al. Oncotarget.2017;8:666641). Melflufen has a mechanism of action distinct from alkylators, with cytotoxicity independent of p53 activity (Slipicevic et al. AACR 2020. Abs. 1843). In this analysis, the clinical activity of melflufen is examined in a subset of pts exposed to prior alkylator therapy.

Background:

Rodríguez-Otero: Janssen, BMS: Other: Travel, accommodations, expenses; Celgene-BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Mundipharma: Research Funding; BMS, Janssen, Amgen: Honoraria; Janssen, BMS, AbbVie, Sanofi, GSK, Oncopeptides, Kite, Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria. Mateos:Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Roche: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria; AbbVie: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Regeneron: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Oriol:Janssen: Consultancy; Sanofi: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; GlaxoSmithKline: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Larocca:Amgen: Honoraria; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Blade Creixenti:Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Oncopeptides: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Cavo:AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Leleu:AbbVie: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; GSK: Honoraria; Sanofi: Honoraria; Oncopeptide: Honoraria; Karyopharm: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Merck: Honoraria; BMS-celgene: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Carsgen: Honoraria. Nadeem:Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; Amgen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Adaptive: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES. Hassoun:Novartis: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Touzeau:Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; Sanofi: Honoraria, Research Funding. Amor:Sanofi: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene-BMS: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Maisel:Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Texas Oncology: Current Employment; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Texas Oncology: Current Employment; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Kite: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Mazumder:Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; The Oncology Institute: Current Employment; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Raptis:INTEGRA: Consultancy, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES; UPMC: Current Employment. Puig:JANSSEN: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding; TAKEDA: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding; AMGEN: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding; CELGENE: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; THE BINDING SITE: Consultancy, Honoraria. Thuresson:Statisticon: Current Employment; Oncopeptides: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Harmenberg:Ultupharma AB: Current equity holder in private company; Medivir AB: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company; Oncopeptides AB: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months, Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES. Harlin:Oncopeptides AB: Consultancy, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Richardson:Celgene/BMS, Oncopeptides, Takeda, Karyopharm: Research Funding.This is a phase 2 investigational study of melflufen in RRMM.

Mina: Amgen: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Petrucci:Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Lemoli:AbbVie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; BerGenBio ASA: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Jazz: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Servier: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Research Funding. Offidani:BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria. Musto:Amgen: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria. Corradini:F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Honoraria; Incyte: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; KiowaKirin: Consultancy, Honoraria; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other; BMS: Other; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel and accommodations paid by for; Kite: Consultancy, Honoraria. Cavo:BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel accomodations, Speakers Bureau; GlaxoSmithKline: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Karyopharm: Honoraria. Boccadoro:GlaxoSmithKline: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Sanofi: Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Mundipharma: Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding. Larocca:Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; GSK: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Celgene: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen: Honoraria.The presentation includes discussion of off-label use of a drug or drugs for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma (including cyclophosphamide, G-CSF and plerixafor).

INTRODUCTION.The proteasome inhibitor (PI) Ixazomib, approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM), represents an appealing option for the management of elderly patients, due to its oral administration and the lack of peripheral neuropathy. We previously presented preliminary results of the phase II EMN10-Unito study investigating Ixazomib in combination with dexamethasone (Id), Cyclophosphamide-dexamethasone (ICd), Thalidomide-dexamethasone (ITd) or Bendamustine-dexamethasone (IBd) as induction therapy followed by single-agent Ixazomib maintenance in transplant-ineligible newly diagnosed (ND) MM patients. Here we present updated results of the study with a longer follow-up.

Significant benefits for zoledronic acid (ZOL) over clodronate acid (CLO) were seen in the Medical Research Council Myeloma IX randomized trial. ZOL significantly reduced skeletal-related events (SREs), and improved progression-free survival and overall survival (OS), making it the bisphosphonate of choice for newly diagnosed myeloma patients. In this analysis of Myeloma IX data, we have investigated the impact of response on bone disease in 1111 transplant-eligible patients. At posttransplant day 100, complete response (CR) was seen in 48% of patients, very good partial response (VGPR) in 20%, and partial response (PR) in 23%. For patients in VGPR or less, ZOL was superior to CLO in reducing SREs (P = .048), whereas for patients in CR, both agents were equivalent (P = .83). For OS, ZOL was associated with a significant benefit in patients in PR (P = .0091). No difference in OS was seen with patients in CR (P = .91) or VGPR (P = .74). These findings indicate that response category posttransplant may influence the impact of bisphosphonate therapy. This trial was registered as #ISRCTN68454111 at www.isrctn.org.

Significant benefits for zoledronic acid (ZOL) over clodronate acid (CLO) were seen in the Medical Research Council Myeloma IX randomized trial. ZOL significantly reduced skeletal-related events (SREs), and improved progression-free survival and overall survival (OS), making it the bisphosphonate of choice for newly diagnosed myeloma patients. In this analysis of Myeloma IX data, we have investigated the impact of response on bone disease in 1111 transplant-eligible patients. At posttransplant day 100, complete response (CR) was seen in 48% of patients, very good partial response (VGPR) in 20%, and partial response (PR) in 23%. For patients in VGPR or less, ZOL was superior to CLO in reducing SREs (P= .048), whereas for patients in CR, both agents were equivalent (P= .83). For OS, ZOL was associated with a significant benefit in patients in PR (P= .0091). No difference in OS was seen with patients in CR (P= .91) or VGPR (P= .74). These findings indicate that response category posttransplant may influence the impact of bisphosphonate therapy. This trial was registered as #ISRCTN68454111 at www.isrctn.org.

We performed a phase 1/2 trial to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of pomalidomide and to explore its efficacy when combined with cyclophosphamide-prednisone in relapsed/refractory myeloma patients. Pomalidomide was given at 1 to 2.5 mg/d, cyclophosphamide at 50 mg every other day, prednisone at 50 mg every other day, for 6 28-day cycles, followed by pomalidomide-prednisone maintenance therapy. Thromboprophylaxis was recommended. Sixty-nine patients were enrolled, 55 received the MTD (2.5 mg/d) and were evaluated. Best responses included complete response in 3 patients (5%), very good partial response in 10 (18%), partial response in 15 (27%), minimal response in 11 (20%), stable disease in 15 (27%), and progressive disease in 1 (3%), for an overall response rate of 51%. The median time-to-response was 1.83 months. After a median follow-up of 14.8 months, median progression-free survival was 10.4 months and 1-year overall survival was 69%. At the MTD, grade 3 to 4 toxicities included anemia (9%), thrombocytopenia (11%), neutropenia (42%), neurologic events (7%), dermatologic events (7%), and thromboembolism (2%). Grade 3 to 5 infections occurred in 5 patients (9%). Five patients (9%) discontinued treatment for toxicity. New grade 3 to 4 adverse events were low during maintenance. Pomalidomide-cyclophosphamide-prednisone is safe and effective in relapsed/refractory myeloma patients. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01166113.

We performed a phase 1/2 trial to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of pomalidomide and to explore its efficacy when combined with cyclophosphamide-prednisone in relapsed/refractory myeloma patients. Pomalidomide was given at 1 to 2.5 mg/d, cyclophosphamide at 50 mg every other day, prednisone at 50 mg every other day, for 6 28-day cycles, followed by pomalidomide-prednisone maintenance therapy. Thromboprophylaxis was recommended. Sixty-nine patients were enrolled, 55 received the MTD (2.5 mg/d) and were evaluated. Best responses included complete response in 3 patients (5%), very good partial response in 10 (18%), partial response in 15 (27%), minimal response in 11 (20%), stable disease in 15 (27%), and progressive disease in 1 (3%), for an overall response rate of 51%. The median time-to-response was 1.83 months. After a median follow-up of 14.8 months, median progression-free survival was 10.4 months and 1-year overall survival was 69%. At the MTD, grade 3 to 4 toxicities included anemia (9%), thrombocytopenia (11%), neutropenia (42%), neurologic events (7%), dermatologic events (7%), and thromboembolism (2%). Grade 3 to 5 infections occurred in 5 patients (9%). Five patients (9%) discontinued treatment for toxicity. New grade 3 to 4 adverse events were low during maintenance. Pomalidomide-cyclophosphamide-prednisone is safe and effective in relapsed/refractory myeloma patients. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.govas #NCT01166113.

Lenalidomide plus dexamethasone is effective in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) but is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). This prospective, open-label, randomized substudy of a phase 3 trial compared the efficacy and safety of thromboprophylaxis with low-dose aspirin (ASA) or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in patients with newly diagnosed MM, treated with lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone induction and melphalan-prednisone-lenalidomide consolidation. Overall, 342 patients who did not have clinical indications or contraindications to antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy were randomly assigned to receive ASA 100 mg/d (n = 176) or LMWH enoxaparin 40 mg/d (n = 166). The incidence of VTE was 2.27% in the ASA group and 1.20% in the LMWH group. Compared with LMWH, the absolute difference in the proportion of VTE was 1.07% (95% confidence interval, −1.69-3.83; P = .452) in the ASA group. Pulmonary embolism was observed in 1.70% of patients in the ASA group and none in the LMWH group. No arterial thrombosis, acute cardiovascular events, or sudden deaths were reported. No major hemorrhagic complications were reported. In previously untreated patients with MM receiving lenalidomide with a low thromboembolic risk, ASA could be an effective and less-expensive alternative to LMWH thromboprophylaxis. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00551928.

Lenalidomide plus dexamethasone is effective in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) but is associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). This prospective, open-label, randomized substudy of a phase 3 trial compared the efficacy and safety of thromboprophylaxis with low-dose aspirin (ASA) or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) in patients with newly diagnosed MM, treated with lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone induction and melphalan-prednisone-lenalidomide consolidation. Overall, 342 patients who did not have clinical indications or contraindications to antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy were randomly assigned to receive ASA 100 mg/d (n = 176) or LMWH enoxaparin 40 mg/d (n = 166). The incidence of VTE was 2.27% in the ASA group and 1.20% in the LMWH group. Compared with LMWH, the absolute difference in the proportion of VTE was 1.07% (95% confidence interval, −1.69-3.83; P= .452) in the ASA group. Pulmonary embolism was observed in 1.70% of patients in the ASA group and none in the LMWH group. No arterial thrombosis, acute cardiovascular events, or sudden deaths were reported. No major hemorrhagic complications were reported. In previously untreated patients with MM receiving lenalidomide with a low thromboembolic risk, ASA could be an effective and less-expensive alternative to LMWH thromboprophylaxis. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.govas #NCT00551928.

Complete response (CR) was an uncommon event in elderly myeloma patients until novel agents were combined with standard oral melphalan-prednisone. This analysis assesses the impact of treatment response on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). We retrospectively analyzed 1175 newly diagnosed myeloma patients, enrolled in 3 multicenter trials, treated with melphalan-prednisone alone (n = 332), melphalan-prednisone-thalidomide (n = 332), melphalan-prednisone-bortezomib (n = 257), or melphalan-prednisone-bortezomib-thalidomide (n = 254). After a median follow-up of 29 months, the 3-year PFS and OS were 67% and 27% (hazard ratio = 0.16; P< .001), and 91% and 70% (hazard ratio = 0.15; P< .001) in patients who obtained CR and in those who achieved very good partial response, respectively. Similar results were observed in patients older than 75 years. Multivariate analysis confirmed that the achievement of CR was an independent predictor of longer PFS and OS, regardless of age, International Staging System stage, and treatment. These findings highlight a significant association between the achievement of CR and long-term outcome, and support the use of novel agents to achieve maximal response in elderly patients, including those more than 75 years. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.govas #NCT00232934, #ISRCTN 90692740, and #NCT01063179.