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Shaji K. Kumar, MD
Prashant Kapoor, MD, FACP
Shaji K. Kumar, MD
Prashant Kapoor, MD, FACP
Posted: Friday, October 14, 2022
The novel activin type IIA receptor fusion protein sotatercept may prove to be an effective and safe treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to a phase I dose-escalation study presented at the 2022 International Myeloma Society (IMS) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstract P-042). “Anemia and bone disease are significant causes of morbidity in multiple myeloma, and sotatercept is one of the first agents acting on the microenvironment that may simultaneously address both problems,” stated Noopur Raje, MD, of Massachusetts General Cancer Center, Boston, and colleagues.
A total of 33 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma with at least one prior line of therapy were enrolled in the study. The median age of study patients was 70 (range, 40–91 years), and they had received between one and five prior lines of treatment. Patients were given sotatercept at 10, 15, 30, or 45 mg along with lenalidomide and dexamethasone during a 28-day cycle. The regimen was later changed to add pomalidomide.
According to the researchers, hematologic adverse events of grade 3 or 4 associated with the use of sotatercept included neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia, which occurred in 51%, 45%, and 27% of patients, respectively. Nonhematologic adverse events included fatigue, diarrhea, hypertension, respiratory infection, and insomnia.
In addition, the authors reported that patients taking pomalidomide along with sotatercept exhibited an average increase of 1 g/dL of hemoglobin. Furthermore, lumbar spine mineral density increased 2.6% by a median of 400 days, and hip bone mineral density increased 2.4% by a median of 329 days. Lastly, the group reported an overall response rate of 69% within the pomalidomide arm of the study and a median progression-free survival of 18.3 months (95% confidence interval = 8.31 months to not reached).
Disclosure: No authors’ disclosures were provided.
2022 IMS Annual Meeting and Exposition
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