Comparing Infections Rates With Bispecific Antibodies in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

By: Joshua D. Madera, MD
Posted: Tuesday, January 2, 2024

Despite the therapeutic benefits of treatment with bispecific antibodies for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, infections remain a concern, according to the results of a French study presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition (Abstract 1005). In fact, patients treated with anti–B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) bispecific antibodies may be more susceptible to infectious complications than those treated with anti-G protein–coupled receptor, class C, group 5, member D (GPRC5D) bispecific antibodies, suggested Aurore Perrot, MD, PhD, of Université de Toulouse, France, and colleagues.

From 2020 to 2023, a total of 229 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma were retrospectively assessed. Patients were stratified based on their treatment with anti-BCMA bispecific antibodies such as teclistamab-cqyv (n = 153), anti-BCMA bispecific antibodies such as elranatamab-bcmm (n = 47), or anti-GPRC5D bispecific antibodies such as talquetamab-tgvs (n = 29). The clinical status of these patients was monitored regularly to assess for infections, hospitalizations, and delays in treatment.

A total of 142 patients were revealed to have experienced a sum of 234 infectious events. The most severe grade 4 or higher infections occurred in patients treated with anti-BCMA bispecific antibodies (20.6%). Most infections were either localized to the pulmonary tract (41%) or disseminated (22%). In addition, infections were primarily bacterial (55%), although viral (39%) and fungal (5%) infections were also reported. Moreover, 57% of patients were hospitalized, with 13% requiring intensive care. Furthermore, the global cumulative incidence rates of first infection were 73% in patients treated with anti-BCMA bispecific antibodies and 51% in those treated with anti-GPRC5D bispecific antibodies.

Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit ash.confex.com.

2023 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition