Three-Drug Combo Helps Multiple Myeloma

Recent findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that treating multiple myeloma can be helped with the addition of carflizomib and a currently accepted two-drug combination.

Findings revealed that the combo produced significantly better results than simply using the two drugs alone, according to investigators from the Mayo Clinic.

Interim analysis of the ASPIRE clinical trial, which enrolled 792 patients with relapsed multiple myeloma from 20 countries, found an "unprecedented" prolongation of the time patients were free of disease progression, says the study's lead investigator, Keith Stewart, M.B., Ch.B, a Mayo Clinic oncologist in Arizona.

"Patients taking three drugs -- carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone -- stayed free of disease progression for 26 months on average," he added, via a news release. "No one has reported anything like this before for relapsed multiple myeloma."

Researchers discovered that when carfilzomib was added to the standard treatment (lenalidomide and dexamethasone), patients were in remission for 8.7 months or 50 percent longer than the standard two-drug combination.

Furthermore, the study showed that 87.4 percent of those who had carflizomib added to their regimen saw significant improvements when compared to the 66.9 percent who did not receive the added drug.

"Importantly, patients on the three-drug cocktail also reported a better quality of life despite a higher intensity of treatment," he concluded, noting how the findings highlight an increased success in treating myeloma.

"Survival of multiple myeloma has almost doubled over the last decade, and the very positive outcomes from use of the three-drug combination will likely further improve outcomes," he says. "This is a nice story to tell."