Clinical Trial Shows Advantage Of 3-Drug Combo In Transplant-Eligible Myeloma Patients

For myeloma patients who are transplant-eligible, the best treatment available appears to be a three-drug combo of bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone. Because myeloma has many clones to be addressed in these newly-diagnosed patients, administering a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory agent, and a steroid makes a difference. Recent data from the international ASPIRE trial evaluating the use of carfilzomib with lenalidomide and dexamethasone has shown impressive results, says Dr. James R. Berenson, with a probable survival advantage. The median progression-free survival with the three-drug carfilzomib regimen was 26.3 months compared with 17.6 months with a two-drug regimen of lenalidomide and dexamethasone. However, there are several large clinical trials that also show that a two-drug combo may also be effective. To watch three myeloma doctors discuss treatment options (Sagar Lonial, MD, James R. Berenson, MD, and Sundar Jagannath, MD), visit OncLive.