Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in patients with multiple myeloma: where are we and where are we going?

Practical management of disease-related manifestations and drug toxicities in patients with multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a very heterogeneous disease with multiple symptoms and clinical manifestations. MM affects mainly elderly patients and is difficult to manage in the presence of comorbidities, polypharmacy, frailty and adverse events of disease-targeted drugs. The rapid changes in MM treatment resulting from constant innovations in this area, together with the introduction of numerous new drugs with distinct mechanisms of action and toxicity profiles, have led to an increased complexity in the therapeutic decision-making and patient management processes. The prolonged exposure to novel agents, sometimes in combination with conventional therapies, makes this management even more challenging. A careful balance between treatment efficacy and its tolerability should be considered for every patient. During treatment, a close monitoring of comorbidities, disease-related manifestations and treatment side effects is recommended, as well as a proactive approach, with reinforcement of information and patient awareness for the early recognition of adverse events, allowing prompt therapeutic adjustments. In this review, we discuss various issues that must be considered in the treatment of MM patients, while giving practical guidance for monitoring, prevention and management of myeloma-related manifestations and treatment-related toxicities.

Thrombosis in multiple myeloma: Risk estimation by induction regimen and association with overall survival

Lenalidomide-containing (R) triplet and quadruplet regimens are the standard of care for multiple myeloma (MM) and have been shown to increase the risk of thrombosis. The association between thromboembolism (TE) and survival in the novel multidrug era is not yet delineated. In this study, we evaluated the incidence of TE during the first year of MM diagnosis, its association with the type of induction regimen, and its impact on overall survival. We studied 672 newly diagnosed MM (NDMM) patients who received a triplet or quadruplet lenalidomide-based induction at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. TE was diagnosed in 83 patients (12.4%). Of these, 56 (8.3%) had a deep venous thrombosis (DVT), 23 (3.4%) had a pulmonary embolism (PE) with or without the DVT, and 4 (0.6%) patients had a stroke. Carfilzomib-Rd (KRd) had the highest risk of TE (21.1%, 18/85), followed by quadruplets (11.1%, 5/45), bortezomib-Rd (9.6%, 51/531), and 0/11 (0%), treated with other lenalidomide-containing regimens. The difference in TE risk between KRd and the other regimens was statistically significant (OR = 2.6, p < .01). Nine patients developed a TE before being exposed to any treatment. Survival was significantly lower among patients that developed a TE (66 vs. 133 months, p < .01). The association of TE with reduced survival demonstrated in univariate analysis (HR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.6-3.3) was maintained in the multivariable analysis adjusted for high-risk interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), sex, age, receipt of an upfront transplant, the response at induction, and the International Staging System (ISS) (HR = 2.61, CI = 1.74-3.9). We conclude that TE is an important aspect of MM management, and effective management is especially relevant in the novel treatment era.

Peripheral Neuropathy During Concomitant Administration of Proteasome Inhibitors and Factor Xa Inhibitors: Identifying the Likelihood of Drug-Drug Interactions

Backgrounds: Proteasome inhibitors (PI) cause toxic peripheral neuropathy (PN), which is one of the dose-limiting adverse events of these treatments. Recent preclinical studies find that factor Xa inhibitor (FXaI), rivaroxaban, promotes PN in animals receiving oxaliplatin. Cancer patients can receive combined therapy of PI and FXaI. This study aimed to identify and characterize the interaction signals for the concomitant use of PI and FXaI resulting in PN.

Methods: Reports from the United States FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) were extracted from the first quarter of 2004 to the first quarter of 2020 for analysis. The Standardized Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) query was used to identify PN cases. We conducted an initial disproportionality investigation to detect PN adverse event signals associated with the combined use of PI and FXaI by estimating a reporting odds ratio (ROR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). The adjusted RORs were then analyzed by logistic regression analysis (adjusting for age, gender, and reporting year), and additive/multiplicative models were performed to further confirm the findings. Additionally, subset data analysis was performed on the basis of a single drug of PI and FXaI.

Results: A total of 159,317 adverse event reports (including 2,822 PN reports) were included. The combined use of PI and FXaI was associated with a higher reporting of PN (RORadj = 7.890, 95%CI, 5.321–11.698). The result remained significant based on additive/multiplicative methods. The observed association was consistent in the analysis restricted to all specific PI agents (bortezomib and ixazomib) and FXaI (rivaroxaban), except apixaban.

Conclusion: Analysis of FAERS data identified reporting associations of PN in the combined use of PI and FXaI, suggesting the need for more robust preclinical and clinical studies to elucidate the relationship.

Thromboembolic events and thromboprophylaxis associated with immunomodulators in multiple myeloma patients: a real-life study

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to assess international guidelines implementation concerning thromboprophylaxis strategy in myeloma patients treated with immunomodulatory drugs.

METHODS

This retrospective study includes multiple myeloma patients treated with immunomodulatory drugs between 2014 and 2017 in the Hematology department of a teaching hospital (Hospices Civils de Lyon, France) and followed by the multidisciplinary care plan for cancer outpatients ONCORAL (ONCological care for outpatients with ORAL anticancer drugs). Data from immunomodulatory drugs administration, thromboprophylaxis strategy and thrombotic events were collected from medical files. Adherence to 2010 International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) guidelines was assessed.

RESULTS

213 patients received at least one immunomodulatory drug: lenalidomide (60.9%), pomalidomide (24.0%) and thalidomide (15.1%). About two third of treatment lines (66.2%) were in accordance with IMWG recommendations. Among the others, 30.5% and 69.5% had thromboprophylaxis, respectively, superior or inferior to IMWG recommendations. 37 venous thrombotic events and 4 arterial thromboembolisms (one patient experienced both a stroke and deep venous thrombosis simultaneously) were reported.

CONCLUSION

Thromboprophylaxis was systematically performed in myeloma patients treated with immunomodulatory drugs in this real-life retrospective cohort. However, the choice of anticoagulant or anti-platelet agent remains debatable, as adherence to existing guidelines was variable.