ASH 2017: BCMA-Targeted Therapy in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Posted: Wednesday, December 13, 2017
For patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, researchers are finding that monotherapy targeting the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) protein appears to be active, with favorable early overall response rates, according to a study presented by Suzanne Trudel, MD, FRCP(C), of the University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada, and colleagues at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstract 741).
In a first-in-human phase I trial, BMA117159, patients with advanced multiple myeloma were treated with the investigational GSK2857916 that targets BCMA, a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily that is expressed primarily by malignant myeloma, plasma, and some mature B cells. All participating patients were previously treated with multiple lines of therapy, with 57% receiving at least five prior therapies.
The overall response rate with GSK2857916 was 60%. Approximately half of the patients had at least a very good partial response. As a point of comparison, Dr. Trudel and colleagues noted that the overall response rate in patients previously treated with daratumumab was 43%.
All patients treated with GSK2857916 experienced at least one adverse event, with the most common events being thrombocytopenia (57%), anemia (29%), aspartate transaminase increase (29%), and cough (26%). The researchers concluded that this BCMA-targeted monotherapy exhibits a manageable safety profile and warrants further study in this patient population.
