Treatment refractoriness and response rates in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: a retrospective analysis of real-world data
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: • What is already known about this subject? • Relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM) presents significant challenges in clinical management. • Previous studies have highlighted the complexities of MM relapse and refractoriness, emphasizing the need for continued efforts to enhance treatment outcomes. • What are the new findings and their impact? • This retrospective study reveals ongoing challenges related to treatment refractoriness and limited treatment response among patients with MM. • Identifying patients with treatment-refractory MM highlights the need to explore alternative therapeutic approaches and personalized treatment strategies to improve clinical outcomes. • These findings reinforce the critical need for continued research and development to identify novel therapeutic targets and agents capable of overcoming treatment refractoriness in MM. • Insights from this study may support the integration of precision medicine strategies into routine clinical practice, enabling more tailored and effective treatment approaches for individuals with MM. Significant advancements have been made in the management of multiple myeloma (MM); however, high relapse rates continue to worsen prognosis and reduce survival for many patients. This study aims to evaluate treatment refractoriness and response rates in individuals with relapsed and/or refractory MM using real-world evidence. A retrospective cohort study utilizing commercial registry data for 2022, included individuals with relapsed and/or refractory MM who are 18–79 years old and obtain minimum of 5 lines of therapy. Patients at least have one proteasome inhibitor (PI), an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD), and CD38-targeting monoclonal antibody (CD38 MoAB), with their last MM-related visit before October 2022. Patients were excluded if they had concurrent primary malignancies or documented death within 28 days of last line of treatment initiation. Descriptive data, including patient demographic and clinical characteristics, were summarized using continuous and categorical variables. We identified 283 patients after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. 35.7 % of patients have an overall response rate with median response duration of 6.3 months. Most of patients were found to be categorized in penta-refractory class (33.6 %), followed by triple-refractory (25.4 %), dual-refractory (19.4 %), and not triple-refractory classes (13.4 %). The response rate was 49.1% in dual-class refractory, 22.2 % in triple-class refractory, 44.7 % in not triple-class refractory, and 33.7 % in penta-class refractory patients. Findings imply that substantial proportion of patients continue to show limited treatment response and treatment refractoriness even after multiple lines of therapy.
Authors: Ning Lyu, Zahra Majd, Bilqees Fatima, Zhen Zeng, Hua Chen, Susan Abughosh
Institution: University of Houston
Language: English
Subfield: Hematology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,740
OpenAlex ID: W4409149977