Patients with advanced multiple myeloma (MM) whose disease has worsened after multiple lines of therapy have a poor prognosis and very few treatment options available to them. The median survival time for these patients is nine months.
The combination of () and low-dose may help some patients if their multiple myeloma has worsened. As per the clinical trials, patients who received this combo typically had better outcomes and lived longer without the disease progressing. These patients who took the combo also did better than the patients who just received a high-dose of alone. Overall, the survival rate went up within the group that received the combination therapy of the two drugs.
is a capsule taken by mouth that helps the infected bone marrow produce normal blood cells while enhancing the immune system to kill abnormal cells in the bone marrow.
Ola Landgren, MD, Ph.D., and Chief of NCI’s Multiple Myeloma Section commented on the efficacy of the combination drug therapy by saying:
“Based on these data, plus low-dose is an important new addition to the treatment armamentarium for patients with advanced refractory or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. The anti-myeloma effect is substantial, and the side-effect profile for this regimen is very reasonable.”
Results of Trial
After a median follow-up of a period of ten months, the researchers conducting the study found that patients with the combo dose of the medication had lived 4 months without the disease worsening compared to the 1.9 months among the patients that were just prescribed a high dose of alone. Patients in this group also lived longer than the other group, 12.7 months vs. 8.1 months. One-third of the patients in the combination drug group had their tumors shrink or showed positive signs in response to the drug.
This is promising news and they continue to test the medicine. More news to follow the development of this drug combo to treat multiple myeloma.
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Posted on May 22, 2023