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Shaji K. Kumar, MD
Prashant Kapoor, MD, FACP
Shaji K. Kumar, MD
Prashant Kapoor, MD, FACP
Posted: Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Findings presented at the 2022 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 1055) featured an analysis of the Connect® Multiple Myeloma Registry. According to Leslie K. Ballas, MD, of Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues, radiation therapy was frequently used in patients with multiple myeloma, and its application was dictated primarily by clinical, rather than sociodemographic, factors.
“The Connect [Multiple Myeloma] Registry is a largely community-based registry that provides a unique opportunity to evaluate real-world use and factors that influence [radiation therapy] use,” the researchers commented.
The Connect Multiple Myeloma Registry is a United States–based, prospective study of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. From the registry, 903 patients who received radiation therapy were selected. The investigators recorded radiation therapy use quarterly over the entire course of the patients’ treatment, in the first 6 months from enrollment and in the 6 months preceding death.
The team observed that 21% of patients received radiotherapy within the first 6 months of enrollment, compared with 16% within the 6 months before death. Most frequently, patients received a triplet anti–multiple myeloma regimen (55%), and at baseline the prevailing indications for radiotherapy were pain (65%), impending fracture (13%), or neurologic compression (12%). Overall radiation therapy use was less common in patients with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 than in those who had a performance status of 2 or higher (odds ratio [OR] = 0.58; P = .0014); however, use of radiotherapy was more common in patients who had an International Staging System assessment of stage I or II, versus stage III (OR = 1.61; P = .0009). Separately, sociodemographic factors (including age, sex, race, and insurance status) were not found to be significant to radiation therapy use.
Disclosure: Dr. Ballas reported no conflicts of interest.
