EHA24 Congress: Melflufen Combination Regimen for Resistant Multiple Myeloma
Posted: Thursday, June 27, 2019
A triplet regimen consisting of melflufen, dexamethasone, and bortezomib or daratumumab shows activity and tolerability in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Ludek Pour, PhD, of the University Hospital Brno, Czech Republic, presented interim data from the ongoing phase I/II ANCHOR trial at the 2019 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress in Amsterdam (Abstract PF608).
“Melflufen is a first-in-class drug that is activated by aminopeptidases, which are overexpressed in multiple cancers, including myeloma,” said study coauthor Paul G. Richardson, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, in the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Clinical News. Investigators hope this novel agent will be able to overcome the resistance pathways of current therapies for multiple myeloma.
As of February 2019, 15 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma were included in the study. A total of 5 patients received bortezomib with melflufen and dexamethasone, and 10 patients received daratumumab with melflufen and dexamethasone. Patients who completed two or more cycles of the therapy had a 100% overall response rate with the bortezomib combination and an 82% overall response rate with the daratumumab combination.
Patients taking both the bortezomib and daratumumab combinations had no dose-limiting toxicities. For those on the bortezomib regimen, 60% experienced grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse effects, most common being thrombocytopenia (60%) and neutropenia (40%). Patients assigned to receive daratumumab most commonly had adverse effects of neutropenia (40%) and thrombocytopenia (30%).
Disclosure: The study authors’ disclosure information may be found at ehaweb.org.
