ASCO20: Adding Elotuzumab to Bortezomib-Based Therapies for High-Risk Multiple Myeloma
Posted: Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Saad Zafar Usmani, MD, of the Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina, and colleagues found that the addition of elotuzumab to standard lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (RVd) induction and maintenance therapies did not provide a meaningful clinical benefit for patients with high-risk multiple myeloma. However, the results of the phase II SWOG-1211 trial, which were presented during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program (Abstract 8507), supported the use of proteasome inhibitor/immunomodulatory agent combination maintenance therapies in such patients.
A total of 103 patients with high-risk multiple myeloma were randomly assigned to undergo RVd induction and maintenance therapies with (n = 49) or without (n = 54) the addition of elotuzumab. Eight cycles of RVd induction therapy were administered prior to the initiation of dose-attenuated RVd maintenance therapy. Follow-up data were provided for an average of 53 months.
The SWOG-1211 trial did not demonstrate statistical significance against the primary endpoint of progression-free survival. The median progression-free survival times in the experimental and control groups were 31 and 34 months, respectively (P = .449). There was no significant difference in overall survival between the groups (P = .478). The experimental and control groups exhibited comparable safety profiles; however, notable differences were observed in the incidence of grade > 3 infections (16% vs. 8%, respectively) and grade > 3 sensory neuropathy (13% vs. 8%, respectively).
“In the first randomized high-risk multiple myeloma study reported to date, the addition of elotuzumab to RVd induction and maintenance did not improve patient outcomes,” the investigators commented. “The SWOG-1211 data will serve as an important benchmark for future high-risk multiple myeloma clinical trials.”
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit coi.asco.org.
