Venetoclax Plus Pomalidomide and Dexamethasone in Resistant Multiple Myeloma
Posted: Friday, December 3, 2021
A small phase II study published in Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma and Leukemia highlights the use of combination treatments for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Maria Victoria Mateos, MD, PhD, of Hospital Clínico Universitario de Salamanca, Spain, and colleagues examined the safety and tolerability of the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax with pomalidomide and dexamethasone. Their findings revealed that 63% of patients had a confirmed response, and progression-free survival was 10.5 months. However, some patients experienced dose-limiting toxicities and grade 3 or above adverse events.
“Combinations of venetoclax with agents that have complementary mechanisms of action may improve venetoclax efficacy in [relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma]…. The [c]ombination of venetoclax and pomalidomide may enhance immune stimulation, as pomalidomide has been shown to directly stimulate antibody-dependent cytotoxic T-cell responses…,” stated Dr. Mateos and colleagues.
A total of eight patients were recruited from four centers across the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The median age of patients was 67.5 years (range, 60–77 years). Venetoclax was administered daily for days 1 to 28, pomalidomide was administered orally daily for days 1 to 21, and dexamethasone was administered weekly for each 28-day cycle.
Findings revealed that five of the eight patients had a confirmed response, with two patients having a very good partial response and three achieving a partial response. The median progression-free survival was 10.5 months (95% confidence interval = 0.36 to not estimable). Target-emergent adverse events were observed in all patients at grade 3 or greater.
Based on these findings, the study authors concluded that although this study had limited enrollment, there was sufficient safety and efficacy data to warrant further investigation of similar drug combinations.
Disclosure: For full disclosure of the study author’s visit, sciencedirect.com.
