ASH: Daratumumab is beneficial for patients with multiple myeloma

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) — For newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients who are eligible for transplantation, subcutaneous daratumumab is added along with induction and consolidation therapy of bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone and with maintenance therapy with lenalidomide (D-). VRd) improves progression-free survival. These findings were published online December 12 in the New England Journal of Medicine, which coincided with the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), held December 9-12 in San Diego.

Peter Sonneveld, MD, PhD, of the Erasmus MC Cancer Institute in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues randomly assigned 709 transplant-eligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma to receive induction and consolidation therapy (D-VRd) and maintenance therapy with Lenalidomide (D-VRd group) or VRd induction and consolidation therapy and maintenance therapy with lenalidomide alone (VRd group) in a phase III trial.

The researchers found that the risk of disease progression or death was lower in the D-VRd group than in the VRd group at an average follow-up of 47.5 months. The estimated percentage of patients who remained alive without progression was 84.3 and 67.7 percent in the D-VRd and VRd groups, respectively, at 48 months (hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.42). The D-VRd group had a higher proportion of patients with a complete response or better (87.9 vs. 70.1 percent) and a higher proportion of patients with negative minimal residual disease (75.2 vs. 47.5 percent).

“These findings strengthen existing evidence supporting the use of daratumumab in combination regimens for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma,” the authors wrote.

The study was funded in part by Janssen Research and Development, the manufacturer of daratumumab.

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