Trends in survival of multiple myeloma patients in Germany and the United States in the first decade of the 21st century

Impact of bortezomib on 1q21+ in multiple myeloma: A meta-analysis of treatment outcomes and prognostic implications

The gain of chromosomal region 1q21 is a significant risk factor in multiple myeloma (MM) and is associated with poor prognosis. The introduction of bortezomib has notably improved outcomes for patients with MM. However, recent studies have reported conflicting results regarding the efficacy of bortezomib in mitigating the adverse effects of 1q21 aberration in these patients. To address this, in the present study, a meta-analysis was conducted based on 6 studies encompassing 1,575 patients with MM. The prognosis of patients with 1q21+ who underwent treatment with a bortezomib-based regimen was evaluated in terms of complete response (CR), overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates. The results demonstrated that patients with 1q21 aberration were more likely to achieve CR than those without 1q21+ under bortezomib-based treatment [odds ratio, 0.64; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.49-0.83; P=0.0008]. However, 1q21+ remained a high-risk factor in patients with MM even after bortezomib treatment [PFS: hazard ratio (HR), 1.72; 95% CI, 1.53-1.93; P<0.00001; and OS: HR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.58-2.42; P<0.00001]. In conclusion, although bortezomib improved the likelihood of achieving CR in patients with 1q21+, this genetic aberration continues to be considered a high-risk factor in patients with MM treated with a bortezomib-based regimen.

Effect of prior lenalidomide or daratumumab exposure on hematopoietic stem cell collection and reconstitution in multiple myeloma

BACKGROUND

The roles of Lenalidomide (Len) and Daratumumab (Dara) in multiple myeloma treatment are well-established, yet their influences on hematopoietic stem cell harvesting and reconstitution remain disputed.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic database review to identify cohort studies or RCTs evaluating the effect of the use of Len or Dara on hematopoietic stem cell collection and peripheral blood count recovery in multiple myeloma patients. Effects on hematopoietic collection or reconstitution were estimated by comparing standardized mean differences (SMD) and mean differences (MD), or median differences.

RESULTS

Eighteen relevant studies were identified, summarizing mobilization results. For Len, data from 13 studies were summarized, including total CD34+ cell yield, collection failure rate, and time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment. Results indicated that Len exposure led to decreased stem cell collection [SMD=-0.23, 95% CI (-0.34, -0.12)]. However, collection failure (<2×106) could be mitigated by plerixafor [OR=2.14, 95% CI (0.96, 4.77)]. For Dara, two RCTs and three cohort studies were included, showing that Dara exposure resulted in a reduction in total stem cells even with optimized plerixafor mobilization [SMD=-0.75, 95% CI (-1.26, -0.23)], and delayed platelet engraftment recovery [MD=1.20, 95% CI (0.73, 1.66)].

CONCLUSIONS

Our meta-analysis offers a comprehensive view of Len and Dara's impacts on hematopoietic stem cell collection and reconstitution in multiple myeloma. Len usage could lead to reduced stem cell collection, counteracted by plerixafor mobilization. Dara usage could result in diminished stem cell collection and delayed platelet engraftment.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with hematological malignancies: a one-year retrospective nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) occurring in patients with hematological malignancies (HM) is a life-threatening condition with specific features. Mortality rate remains high but improvement has been described over the past several years. We aimed to describe characteristics and outcomes of ARDS in HM patients admitted in French ICUs (Intensive Care Units) during a one year-period. Data for this nationwide cohort study were collected from the French national hospital database (Programme de Médicalisation des Systèmes d'Information (PMSI)). All patients (18 years or older) admitted to French ICUs in 2017 and with a diagnosis of ARDS were included. Three groups were compared according to the presence of an HM, a solid cancer or no cancer. The primary endpoint was 90-day mortality. Secondary endpoints were the description of ICU management, etiologies of ARDS and mortality risk factors.

RESULTS

A total of 12 846 patients with ARDS were included. Among them, 990 had HM and 2744 had a solid cancer. The main malignancies were non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) (28.5%), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (20.4%) and multiple myeloma (19.7%). Day-90 mortality in patients with HM was higher than in patients with no cancer (64.4% vs. 46.6% p = 0.01) but was not different from that of patients with solid cancer (64.4% vs. 61.4%,p = 0.09). Intubation rate was lower in patients with HM in comparison with both groups (87.7% vs. 90.4% p = 0.02 for patients with solid cancer and 87.7% vs. 91.3%; p < 0.01 with no cancer). Independent predictors of mortality for patients with HM were a diagnosis of lymphoma or acute leukemia, age, a high modified SAPS II score, a renal replacement therapy, invasive fungal infection, and a septic shock. Bacterial pneumonia, extrapulmonary infections and non-invasive ventilation were protective.

CONCLUSION

Mortality remains high in patients with HM admitted in ICU with ARDS in comparison with patients without cancer. Mortality predictors for this population were a diagnosis of lymphoma or acute leukemia, age, a high modified SAPS II score, a renal replacement therapy, invasive fungal infection and a septic shock.

Treatment pattern and outcomes of re-induction therapy prior to stem cell transplantation in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in Germany

There are limited data guiding choice of re-induction therapies for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) prior to stem cell transplantation (SCT). We performed a retrospective medical chart review of 171 patients with RRMM in Germany who received re-induction therapy in second line (78%; n = 134) or third line (22%; n = 37) prior to re-SCT. Index therapy was defined as first completed re-induction therapy for planned myeloablative conditioning and SCT in second/third line within the eligibility period (1/2016-12/2019). Most common pre-index first line and maintenance therapy used were bortezomib-based combinations (91%; n = 155/171) and lenalidomide (55%; n = 29/53), respectively. Median duration of index therapy line was 9 months; carfilzomib-based combinations were the most widely used in second/third line re-induction therapy (49%; n = 83/171), followed by daratumumab-based combinations (21%; n = 36/171). Overall response rates in second/third line were 87% after re-induction and 96% after SCT; median time to next treatment line after start of index therapy was 31 months; median progression-free survival (PFS) was 29 months; and median overall survival after index date was not reached. Based on these data, re-induction therapy with salvage SCT appears to be beneficial in selected patients with RRMM in clinical practice in Germany, translating into deep responses, long PFS and prolonged time to next treatment.

Real-world treatment patterns in patients initiating third-line therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain

OBJECTIVES

To retrospectively analyze real-world treatment patterns in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who initiated third-line treatment in Europe.

METHODS

German and Italian administrative claims data were sourced from the German AOK PLUS health insurance fund and Italian local health units (2016-2020). Data for the United Kingdom (UK), France, and Spain were sourced from medical chart reviews (MCRs) from 2016 to 2018 (historical) and 2019 to 2021 (new) using electronic case report forms.

RESULTS

Across all countries, immunomodulatory imide drug (IMiD)-based regimens were prominent in the third-line setting. From 2016 to 2020, lenalidomide-dexamethasone was most common in Italy (18.0%) and Germany (12.7%). From 2019 to 2021, the most common regimen was ixazomib-lenalidomide-dexamethasone (67.5%) in the UK, pomalidomide-dexamethasone (17.1%) in France, and daratumumab-bortezomib-dexamethasone (15.0%) in Spain. In the historical data (2016-2018), third-line lenalidomide- and pomalidomide-dexamethasone doublet use across the UK (>47%), France (>46%), and Spain (>33%) was high. From historical to new, triplet use increased in Spain (>19% to >60%) as did anti-CD38 agent use in France (15.1% to 51.9%) and Spain (19.7% to 42.1%).

CONCLUSIONS

From 2016 to 2021, third-line regimens were mostly IMiD based. The MCR data demonstrated evolving treatment choices from 2016 to 2018 and 2019 to 2021, providing insights into uptake of novel agents and current RRMM European clinical practice.

Multiple myeloma incidence, mortality, and survival differences at the intersection of sex, age, and race/ethnicity: A comparison between Puerto Rico and the United States SEER population

BACKGROUND

Multiple myeloma (MM) survival has increased during the last decades due to the introduction of new therapies. We investigated the intersectionality among age, sex, and race/ethnicity to better understand the pattern of MM incidence, mortality, and survival.

METHODS

Puerto Rico (PR) Central Cancer Registry and the United States of America (US) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program databases were used. We analyzed MM incidence and mortality trends from 2001 to 2019 using Joinpoint regression models to calculate annual percent change (APC). Age-standardized rate ratios (SRR) for incidence and mortality were used to compare PR with US SEER racial/ethnic groups during 2015-2019. Five-year survival analyses were also performed stratified by age and sex.

RESULTS

Regardless of age and race/ethnicity, males had higher MM incidence and mortality rates than females. PR had a higher increase in incidence rates of MM than other ethnic groups, regardless of sex and age (PR APC = 4.3 among males <65, 3.1 among males ≥65, 6.3 among females <65, and 2.6 among females ≥65 years old). No significant change in mortality APCs (p > 0.05) was observed in PR when stratified by age or sex while other groups showed a decrease. Among males < 65 years, PR had significantly higher incidence rates than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), and US Hispanics (USH). However, among both males and females ≥ 65 years, PR had significantly lower MM mortality rates than NHW, non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB), USH, and US Overall. In terms of survival, PR showed the lowest 5-year overall survival among males < 65 years (54.6%, 95% CI: 47.2-61.5) and males ≥ 65 years (34.5%, 95% CI: 29.2-39.9) but not among females.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of MM in PR increased significantly over the study period, particularly among younger women. Despite the introduction of new therapies, mortality rates in PR have remained stable while other ethnic groups show significant decreases among all intersections of sex and age.

Outcomes of Patients with Newly Diagnosed Transplant-Ineligible Multiple Myeloma According to Clinical Trials Enrollment: Experience of a Single Institution

The proportion of non-transplant-eligible (NTE) newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM) patients excluded from clinical trials (CTs) and their prognosis is unknown. CT results may not be generalizable to real-world practice due to strict recruitment criteria. We analyzed causes of NTE-NDMM patient exclusion form CTs and their outcomes. A total of 211 NTE-NDMM patients were included. They were divided into three periods: 2003-2007, 2008-2012, and 2013-2017. Overall, 50% received non-trial treatment (NCT), while 50% participated in a CT (20% control group (CG) and 30% experimental group (EG)). Main causes for exclusion from CTs were comorbidities, ECOG > 2, and renal insufficiency. In the first two periods, the CR rate was similar regardless of treatment type, but in the last period, the EG group showed improved CR. Median PFS was similar in the first two periods, with a benefit seen only in the EG in the last period. The median OS was significantly longer in CT-included patients compared to NCT group in the last two periods. Conclusions: The presence of comorbidities and worsened ECOG were the main reasons for CT exclusion. Patients included in CTs had a longer OS than NCT. This OS benefit may be influenced by a selection bias, making it challenging to generalize CT results to real clinical practice.

Acetylation in pathogenesis: Revealing emerging mechanisms and therapeutic prospects

Protein acetylation modifications play a central and pivotal role in a myriad of biological processes, spanning cellular metabolism, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and beyond, by effectively reshaping protein structure and function. The metabolic state of cells is intricately connected to epigenetic modifications, which in turn influence chromatin status and gene expression patterns. Notably, pathological alterations in protein acetylation modifications are frequently observed in diseases such as metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disorders, and cancer. Such abnormalities can result in altered protein properties and loss of function, which are closely associated with developing and progressing related diseases. In recent years, the advancement of precision medicine has highlighted the potential value of protein acetylation in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. This review includes provocative and thought-provoking papers outlining recent breakthroughs in acetylation modifications as they relate to cardiovascular disease, mitochondrial metabolic regulation, liver health, neurological health, obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Additionally, it covers the molecular mechanisms and research challenges in understanding the role of acetylation in disease regulation. By summarizing novel targets and prognostic markers for the treatment of related diseases, we aim to contribute to the field. Furthermore, we discuss current hot topics in acetylation research related to health regulation, including N4-acetylcytidine and liquid-liquid phase separation. The primary objective of this review is to provide insights into the functional diversity and underlying mechanisms by which acetylation regulates proteins in disease contexts.

Global disparities in patients with multiple myeloma: a rapid evidence assessment

There are disparities in outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). We evaluated the influence of sociodemographic factors on global disparities in outcomes for patients with MM. This rapid evidence assessment (PROSPERO, CRD42021248461) followed PRISMA-P guidelines and used the PICOS framework. PubMed and Embase® were searched for articles in English from 2011 to 2021. The title, abstract, and full text of articles were screened according to inclusion/exclusion criteria. The sociodemographic factors assessed were age, sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. Outcomes were diagnosis, access to treatment, and patient outcomes. Of 84 articles included, 48 were US-based. Worldwide, increasing age and low socioeconomic status were associated with worse patient outcomes. In the US, men typically had worse outcomes than women, although women had poorer access to treatment, as did Black, Asian, and Hispanic patients. No consistent disparities due to sex were seen outside the US, and for most factors and outcomes, no consistent disparities could be identified globally. Too few studies examined disparities in diagnosis to draw firm conclusions. This first systematic analysis of health disparities in patients with MM identified specific populations affected, highlighting a need for additional research focused on assessing patterns, trends, and underlying drivers of disparities in MM.

Conditional survival in multiple myeloma and impact of prognostic factors over time

Overall survival estimates from diagnosis are valuable for guiding treatment, but do not consider the years already survived. Conditional survival (CS) provides dynamic survival predictions over time. This study was conducted to estimate CS at 1-8 years from diagnosis and the impact of baseline prognostic factors on CS in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. This is a retrospective study including 2556 MM patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2019. CS (t | s) was defined as the probability of surviving t years given survival of s years. Median age was 64 years. Median follow-up was 6.2 years and median overall survival from diagnosis was 7.5 years. The 5-year CS estimates at s = 0, 1, 2, 3, and 5 years were 0.64, 0.61, 0.61, 0.61, and 0.58, respectively. On multivariate analysis, age ≥ 65 and proteasome inhibitor+immunomodulatory-based induction were associated with decreased survival and increased survival, respectively, retained at 5 years. The adverse impact of 1q gain/amplification, high-risk IgH translocation, and ISS-3 was significant at 1 and 3 years but not 5 years. Chromosome 17 abnormality was associated with decreased survival only at 1 year. Among MM patients, 5-year CS was stable at 1-5 years from diagnosis. The prognostic impact of high-risk cytogenetic factors decreased with additional years survived.

Biological research on the occurrence and development of multiple myeloma and its treatment

INTRODUCTION

To review the pathogenesis and treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). MM is a hematological malignancy with abnormal plasma cell proliferation in bone marrow. Due to the emergence of drug resistance, MM is still an incurable malignancy, which requires further exploration of pathogenesis and effective therapeutic targets.

METHODS

In this paper, the method of literature review is adopted to obtain the information about MM. Based on the literature, comprehensive and systematic review is made.

RESULTS

MM is a complex pathophysiological process with great heterogeneity, mainly reflected in genomic instability and bone marrow microenvironment. At present, the treatment of MM has made great progress, proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs are widely used in clinic. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation may be the only promising cure for MM, and its high transplant-related mortality limits its clinical application.

CONCLUSIONS

The future of MM treatment lies in the development of more targeted therapies, novel immunotherapies, and a better understanding of the disease's molecular and genetic basis.

Time trends in survival and causes of death in multiple myeloma: a population-based study from Germany

BACKGROUND

Steady evolution of therapies has improved prognosis of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) over the past two decades. Yet, knowledge about survival trends and causes of death in MM might play a crucial role in long-term management of this patient collective. Here, we investigate time trends in myeloma-specific survival at the population level over two decades and analyse causes of death in times of prolonged survival.

METHODS

Age-standardised and age group-specific relative survival (RS) of MM patients aged < 80 years at diagnosis was estimated for consecutive time periods from 2000-2019 using data from the Cancer Registry of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Conditional RS was estimated for patients who already survived one to five years post diagnosis. Causes of death in MM patients were analysed and compared to the general population using standardised mortality ratios (SMR).

RESULTS

Three thousand three hundred thirty-six MM cases were included in the time trend analysis. Over two decades, age-standardised 5-year RS increased from 37 to 62%. Age-specific survival improved from 41% in period 2000-2004 to 69% in period 2015-2019 in the age group 15-69 years, and from 23 to 47% in the age group 70-79 years. Conditional 5-year RS of patients who survived five years after diagnosis slightly improved as compared to unconditional 5-year RS at diagnosis. MM patients are two times more likely to die from non-myeloma malignancies (SMR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.81-2.15) and from cardiovascular diseases (SMR = 2.01, 95% CI 1.86-2.18) than the general population.

CONCLUSIONS

Prognosis of patients with MM has markedly improved since the year 2000 due to therapeutic advances. Nevertheless, late mortality remains a major concern. As survival improves, second primary malignancies and cardiovascular events deserve increased attention.

Current status of drug development for patients with multiple myeloma: a review of comparison in China and the rest of world

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a highly heterogeneous malignancy. The treatment of MM has been significantly advanced in recent years. B cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeted immunotherapy and chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy have been approved for the treatment of relapsed and refractory MM (RRMM), which will be launched in China shortly. The CD38 (cluster of differentiation 38) antibody, daratumumab, improves the clinical outcomes both RRMM and newly diagnosed MM patients. The combination of daratumumab, bortezomib and dexamethasone achieved favorable outcomes as the first-line therapy in China. However, high-risk patients have limited benefits from these advanced therapeutics, and usually relapse early, progressing into aggressive end-stage MM. Therefore, novel therapies are sought to improve the cancer prognosis in these patients. This review furnishes an overview of the recent clinical developments of these novel drugs and compares the drug candidates under development in China to the rest of the world.

Prognostic value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography at diagnosis in untreated multiple myeloma patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Multiple myeloma is a clonal B-lymphocyte tumor of terminally differentiated plasma cells. ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT can provide valuable data for the diagnosis, restaging, and evaluate prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM). This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of pre-treatment ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT at diagnosis in MM patients. Related researches came from Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases through a systematic search, and the last one was updated on April 26, 2021. Cochran Q test and I-squared statistics were used to test for heterogeneity among the studies analyzed. The fixed model and random model were used to combine results when appropriate. Stata 12.0 was used to perform statistical analysis, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A total of 16 articles with 2589 patients were included in this study. Our results indicated PET/CT has an excellent prognostic role in MM, that higher SUV_max, more FL and EMD were associated with poor OS and PFS. SUVmax: OS (HR 1.89, 95% CI 1.47-2.44), PFS (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.18-1.51); Fl: OS (HR 2.65, 95% CI 1.83-3.79), PFS (HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.40-1.86); EMD: OS (HR 2.11, 95% CI 1.41-3.16), PFS (HR 2.18, 95% CI 1.69-2.81). Furthermore, similar results were observed in most subgroup analyzes. Conclusion Pre-treatment ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT examination has prognostic value for myeloma patients and has guiding significance for clinical treatment.

Optimal timing of treatment at relapse after autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple myeloma: a study of the Korean Multiple Myeloma Working Party (KMM-1909)

The effectiveness of early treatment for biochemical relapse of multiple myeloma (MM) is unclear. To clarify this issue, this retrospective study was performed to evaluate the survival outcomes of 315 patients with relapsed MM after upfront autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Over a median follow-up of 66.6 months (range, 15.1-195.5 months), 48.2% of patients showed biochemical relapse, 41.3% showed clinical relapse, and 10.5% showed significant biochemical relapse. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were inferior for patients with clinical relapse compared to the other patients. Multivariate analysis showed that clinical relapse was an independent prognostic factor for OS. In patients with biochemical relapse, there was no significant difference in survival between patients treated while asymptomatic and those treated once clinical symptoms had appeared. Relapse type after upfront ASCT was a significant prognostic factor in patients with MM. In addition, no survival benefit of early treatment at biochemical relapse was observed, but a triplet regimen may be beneficial for MM patients with biochemical relapse.

Usability of German hospital administrative claims data for healthcare research: General assessment and use case of multiple myeloma in Munich university hospital in 2015–2017

Objectives

To assess the usability of German hospital administrative claims data (GHACD) to determine inpatient management patterns, healthcare resource utilization, and quality-of-care in patients with multiple myeloma (PwMM).

Methods

Based on German tertiary hospital’s claims data (2015–2017), PwMM aged >18 years were included if they had an International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, code of C90.0 or received anti-MM therapy. Subgroup analysis was performed on stem cell transplantation (SCT) patients.

Results

Of 230 PwMM, 59.1% were men; 56.1% were aged ≥65 years. Hypertension and infections were present in 50% and 67.0%, respectively. Seventy percent of PwMM received combination therapy. Innovative drugs such as bortezomib and lenalidomide were given to 36.1% and 10.9% of the patients, respectively. Mean number of admissions and mean hospitalization length/patient were 3.69 (standard deviation (SD) 2.71 (1–16)) and 12.52 (SD 9.55 (1–68.5)) days, respectively. In-hospital mortality was recorded in 12.2%. Seventy-two percent of SCT patients (n = 88) were aged ≤65 years, 22.7% required second transplantation, and 89.8% received platelet transfusion at a mean of 1.42(SD 0.63 (1–3)).

Conclusion

GHACD provided relevant information essential for healthcare studies about PwMM from routine care settings. Data fundamental for quality-of-care assessment were also captured.

Epidemiology, genetics and treatment of multiple myeloma and precursor diseases

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy caused by the clonal expansion of plasma cells. The incidence of MM worldwide is increasing with greater than 140 000 people being diagnosed with MM per year. Whereas 5-year survival after a diagnosis of MM has improved from 28% in 1975 to 56% in 2012, the disease remains essentially incurable. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of MM including its epidemiology, genetics and biology. We will also provide an overview of MM management that has led to improvements in survival, including recent changes to diagnosis and therapies. Areas of unmet need include the management of patients with high-risk MM, those with reduced performance status and those refractory to standard therapies. Ongoing research into the biology and early detection of MM as well as the development of novel therapies, such as immunotherapies, has the potential to influence MM practice in the future.

Outcomes and Risk Factors of Critically Ill Patients with Hematological Malignancy. Prospective Single-Centre Observational Study

Background and Objectives: Oncohematological patients have a high risk of mortality when they need treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of our study is to analyze the outcomes of oncohemathological patients admitted to the ICU and their risk factors. Materials and Methods: A prospective single-center observational study was performed with 114 patients from July 2017 to December 2019. Inclusion criteria were transfer to an ICU, hematological malignancy, age >18 years, a central line or arterial line inserted or planned to be inserted, and a signed informed consent form. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the potential risk factors for ICU mortality. Results: ICU mortality was 44.74%. Invasive mechanical ventilation in ICU was used for 55.26% of the patients, and vasoactive drugs were used for 77.19% of patients. Factors independently associated with it were qSOFA score ≥2, increase of SOFA score over the first 48 h, mechanical ventilation on the first day in ICU, need for colistin therapy, lower arterial pH on arrival to ICU. Cut-off value of the noradrenaline dose associated with ICU mortality was 0.21 μg/kg/min with a ROC of 0.9686 (95% CI 0.93-1.00, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Mortality of oncohematological patients in the ICU is high and it is associated with progression of organ dysfunction over the first 48 h in ICU, invasive mechanical ventilation and need for relatively low dose of noradrenaline. Despite our findings, we do not recommend making decisions regarding treatment limitations for patients who have reached cut-off dose of noradrenaline.

Real-world data on survival improvement in patients with multiple myeloma treated at a single institution over a 45-year period

The prognostic landscape of multiple myeloma (MM) has evolved significantly over the last few decades. There are, however, few data measuring such improvement in real-world patients. This study aimed to investigate trends in survival improvement over 45 years, and the associated clinical factors, in an unselected population of patients with MM. Between 1970 and 2015, 1 161 MM patients were included. Patients were classified into three calendar periods (1970-1984, 1985-1999, and 2000-2015), according to the treatment received; polychemotherapy, autologous stem cell transplantation, and novel drugs respectively. We analysed relative survival (RS) to accurately evaluate MM-related death rates after excluding the mortality expected in the general population. RS at five years increased from 27% in 1970-1984 to 38% and 56% in the next two calendar periods respectively. The improvement to survival was greater in the younger population, but it was also observed in elderly patients and those with poor performance status and more advanced disease. Although myeloma is still a non-curable disease, encouraging results have been observed in the last decades. Progress is expected to continue with the use of new generations of anti-myeloma drugs, and will, hopefully, be documented in real-world patients by the appropriate population-based studies.

Incidence, mortality and survival in multiple myeloma compared to other hematopoietic neoplasms in Sweden up to year 2016

Survival in multiple myeloma (MM) has developed favorably over the past decades for reasons that have been ascribed to new medications and treatment. However, development of survival over a long period and comparison to other hematopoietic neoplasms (HN) is less well known. Here we used Swedish cancer data from the Nordcan database, spanning a 50-year period from 1967 to 2016, and analyzed 1- and 5-year survival data. As a novel type of analysis we calculate the difference in survival between year 1 and 5 which indicates how well survival was maintained in the 4-year period following year 1 after diagnosis. The relative 1- and 5- year survival increased constantly; the 5-year survival graph for women was almost linear. The difference between 1- and 5-year survival revealed that the 5-year survival gain was entirely due to the improvement in 1-year survival, except for the last period. Survival improvement in all HNs exceeded that in MM. The linear 5-year survival increase for female MM patients suggests a contribution by many small improvements in the first year care rather than single major events. The future challenges are to push the gains past year 1 and to extend them to old patients.

Multiple myeloma in Armenia during the period 2006-2018: facts and discussion

Background

It is known that one of the reasons for the increased incidence of hematological malignancies is caused by the growth of multiple myeloma (MM). Worldwide, approximately 159,985 new cases of MM are diagnosed representing 0.9% of all cancer diagnoses and 106,105 patients will die from MM accounting for 1.1% of all cancer deaths per year. Despite significant advances in the MM treatment the mortality rates are still high. The presented study is the first accurate epidemiological study of ММ in Armenia for the period of 2006–2018.

Methods

The initial data for this retrospective cohort survey were derived from ambulance cards, hospitalization journals, and clinical data from the Registry of Blood Diseases at the Yeolyan Hematology Center.

Results

Data analysis showed that during 2006–2018 the average annual incidence for the MM was 1.2 per 100,000 population. A significant increase was observed in 2018 compared to 2006, 1.9 vs. 0.7 per 100,000 population. Interestingly, there were no sex differences in the overall MM incidence during the study period.

According to the received data, during the period of the 2006–2009 and 2014–2018 the 1-year survival rate for both sexes decreased dramatically from 83 to 64.1% at age group 60 years and below and from 78.5 to 68.1% in group 60 years and over. The 1-year overall survival (OS) for both sexes decreased by 18.9% for patients (≤60 age group) and 10.4% (> 60 age group) in the period of 2006–2009 to the period of 2014–2018.

Conclusions

The incidence rates for the MM increased during the analyzed period. Our study showed that males and females in the age group 60 years and below had better 5-year overall survival compared to elder ones and females have better survival.

Deep Collocative Learning for Immunofixation Electrophoresis Image Analysis

Immunofixation Electrophoresis (IFE) analysis is of great importance to the diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma, which is among the top-9 cancer killers in the United States, but has rarely been studied in the context of deep learning. Two possible reasons are: 1) the recognition of IFE patterns is dependent on the co-location of bands that forms a binary relation, different from the unary relation (visual features to label) that deep learning is good at modeling; 2) deep classification models may perform with high accuracy for IFE recognition but is not able to provide firm evidence (where the co-location patterns are) for its predictions, rendering difficulty for technicians to validate the results. We propose to address these issues with collocative learning, in which a collocative tensor has been constructed to transform the binary relations into unary relations that are compatible with conventional deep networks, and a location-label-free method that utilizes the Grad-CAM saliency map for evidence backtracking has been proposed for accurate localization. In addition, we have proposed Coached Attention Gates that can regulate the inference of the learning to be more consistent with human logic and thus support the evidence backtracking. The experimental results show that the proposed method has obtained a performance gain over its base model ResNet18 by 741.30% in IoU and also outperformed popular deep networks of DenseNet, CBAM, and Inception-v3.

Maintenance Therapy With Bortezomib and Dexamethasone for Transplant-ineligible Patients With Multiple Myeloma

BACKGROUND/AIM

Here, we investigated whether bortezomib as a maintenance therapy affected outcomes in transplant-ineligible patients with multiple myeloma (MM).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Following induction therapy with bortezomib, maintenance therapy with bortezomib (1.3 mg/m ² ) and dexamethasone (20 mg) was administered once or twice every 4 weeks until disease progression. The endpoints of this study were time to next treatment and overall survival.

RESULTS

Seventy-six newly diagnosed, transplant-ineligible patients were treated with a bortezomib-based regimen; 28 discontinued induction therapy, 27 did not receive maintenance therapy after induction therapy (the non-maintenance group), and 21 did (the maintenance group). In the three groups, the median times to the next required treatment were 3, 14, and 37 months, respectively. The 3-year overall survival rates were 55%, 69%, and 85%, respectively. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics between the non-maintenance and maintenance groups, except for poorer estimated glomerular filtration rates in the maintenance group.

CONCLUSION

Bortezomib maintenance therapy may be a useful option for transplant-ineligible patients with MM.

Healthcare resource utilization and costs among patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma treated with proteasome inhibitors in real-world clinical practice in Germany

AIMS

To assess the real-world healthcare resource utilization (HRU) and costs associated with different proteasome inhibitors (PIs) for the treatment of patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in Germany.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective medical chart review of treatment patterns, outcomes, and HRU for patients with RRMM treated with bortezomib, carfilzomib, or ixazomib in second- or third-line (2L or 3L) therapy in Germany. Data were collected between 1 January 2017 and 30 June 2017. Costs were calculated based on drug prices and unit costs in Germany.

RESULTS

Physicians provided data on 302 patients. Mean monthly total direct costs per patient receiving PI-based therapy were €7,925 and €10,693 for 2L and 3L, respectively, of which approximately 90% was anti-myeloma drug costs. Overall, the highest costs were associated with patients receiving 3L therapy. Regardless of treatment line, costs were higher for patients who had received a stem cell transplant (SCT) in a previous treatment line than for those who had not; the data suggest that this reflects the use of triplet regimens following a SCT. Patients with a complete response (CR) experienced no unplanned hospitalizations during the study period, whereas patients with progressive disease experienced the highest number of unplanned and planned hospitalizations. In 2L therapy, the highest proportion of patients with a CR was observed in those receiving carfilzomib (12% carfilzomib; 4% bortezomib; 0% ixazomib).

LIMITATIONS

Patients with missing or incomplete follow-up data were included in the study and were accounted for using monthly cost estimates.

CONCLUSIONS

Anti-myeloma drugs were the main contributor to total HRU costs associated with RRMM in Germany. Improved treatment response was associated with lower costs and reduced hospitalizations.

Expression and Importance of TMED2 in Multiple Myeloma Cells

Objective

TMED2 is a member of the transmembrane emp24 domain (Tmed)/p24 protein family, which is significantly upregulated in breast cancer, ovarian cancer and other tumour tissues. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of TMED2 in MM cell lines and its effect on the biological behaviour of MM cell lines.

Methods

Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of TMED2 in MM cell lines, including MM.1S and RPMI 8226 cells, and lentivirus vector-mediated TMED2 gene silencing was used to further study the effect of the downregulation of TMED2 expression on cell viability, the cell cycle, and apoptosis.

Results

Based on the RT-qPCR results, the expression of the TMED2 mRNA was increased in the MM cell lines MM.1S and RPMI 8226 compared with endogenous control GAPDH. The expression of the TMED2 mRNA was substantially reduced after transfection of the shRNA targeting TMED2 (shTMED2) in both MM cell lines. The CCK-8 assay showed significant decreases in the viability of MM.1S and RPMI 8226 cells, suggesting that the TMED2 gene plays an important role in the proliferation of these two cell lines. The cell cycle of MM.1S and RPMI 8226 cells was substantially altered by shTMED2, as evidenced by the increased number of cells in G1 phase and decreased number of cells in S and G2/M phases. The FACS analysis revealed a significant increase in the apoptosis of MM.1S and RPMI 8226 cells due to the increased activity of Caspase 3/7, suggesting that the TMED2 gene is significantly related to the apoptosis of these two cell lines.

Conclusion

Based on these results, TMED2 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of MM. This novel study may contribute to further investigations of useful biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets in patients with MM.

Risk and impact of invasive fungal infections in patients with multiple myeloma

Infection is associated with great morbidity and mortality in patients with multiple myeloma (MM), but evidence for invasive fungal infections (IFIs) is lacking. We aimed to investigate risk factors for IFI in MM patients and to determine its impact on patients' survival. We retrospectively analyzed MM patients at Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan between January 2002 and October 2018. MM was diagnosed according to the International Myeloma Working Group criteria. IFI was defined according to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group criteria. All risk factors of IFI in MM patients were estimated using Cox regression models in the univariate and multivariate analyses. Of the 623 patients recruited, 22 (3.5%) were diagnosed with proven or probable IFI. Light chain disease (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 6.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.10-21.66), hemoglobin less than 8 g/dl (adjusted HR 3.34, 95% CI 1.32-8.42), serum albumin < 3.5 g/dl (adjusted HR 3.24, 95% CI 1.09-9.68), and having received allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) (adjusted HR 5.98, 95% CI 1.62-22.03) were significantly associated with IFI in the multivariate analysis. Contracting IFI was in turn associated with early mortality (adjusted HR 11.60, 95% CI 1.26-106.74). Light chain disease, anemia, hypoalbuminemia, and receiving allo-SCT were independent predictors of IFI in MM patients. The early mortality risk is much higher in those encountering IFI. Physicians must be aware of the rare but potentially lethal infections.

Defining the vulnerable patient with myeloma-a frailty position paper of the European Myeloma Network

As the treatment landscape continues to evolve towards the application of precision medicine in multiple myeloma (MM), there is a clear need to identify those patients who are at risk of not achieving the maximum benefit whilst exposed to the highest level of toxicity. This group of patients, defined as frail, is an unmet clinical need. However, how we define such a vulnerable group of patients with MM remains to be clarified. An integral aspect of this is to define the physiological age and capacity of patients with MM to deal with the burden of their disease and it's treatment. Such assessments may include not only functional and clinical assessments but also laboratory-based biomarkers of frailty, aging and senescent cellular burden. A need to develop, test and validate clinical screening scores before their adoption into clinical practice is mandated. This position paper from the European Myeloma Network aims to review what is known about defining frailty in MM, and how we can advance this knowledge for the design of clinical trials and ultimately how we deliver treatment in the clinic.

Changes in long term survival after diagnosis with common hematologic malignancies in the early 21st century

Five-year survival has increased for many hematologic malignancies in the 21st century. However, whether this has translated into greater long-term survival is unknown. Here, we examine 10- and 20-year survival for patients with multiple myeloma (MM), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Data were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-9 database. Patients age 15+ with the above malignancies were included. The newly developed boomerang method was used to examine 10- and 20-year relative survival (RS) for patients in 2002-2006 and 2012-16. Ten and 20-year RS increased for each malignancy examined, with increases ranging from +4.4% units for 20-year RS for AML to +23.1% units for 10-year RS for CML. Ten year RS was >50% in 2012-16 for patients with CLL, CML, HL, NHL, and DLBCL, at 77.1%, 62.1%, 63.9%, 64.5%, and 63.0%, respectively. Survival dropped between 10 and 20 years after diagnosis for most malignancies. Long-term survival is increasing for common hematologic malignancies, but late mortality is an ongoing issue. Further study of long-term outcomes in curable malignancies to determine the reason for these later decreases in survival is indicated.

Trends in myeloma relative survival in Queensland by treatment era, age, place of residence, and socioeconomic status

Relative survival (RS) in myeloma has improved in younger but not older patients (≥80 years) with treatment advances. Whether place of residence or socioeconomic status (SES) affect RS is unknown. We used the Queensland cancer registry to calculate the five-year RS of myeloma patients diagnosed between 1982 and 2014. This period was divided into three eras: (1) 1982-1995 chemotherapy alone; (2) 1996-2007 autologous stem cell transplantation; (3) 2008-2014 novel agents (proteasome inhibitors and IMIDs). 6025 patients were diagnosed from 1982 to 2014. RS improved across eras: (1) 30% vs. (2) 43% vs. (3) 53% (p < .001 (2) vs. (1); p < .001 (3) vs. (2)). RS improved across all age groups, including patients ≥80 years. Patients with disadvantaged SES (39% vs. affluent 46%; p < .001) and rural patients (40% vs. urban 45%; p < .001) had an inferior RS. RS has improved across all ages with treatment advances.

Retrospective Review of the Use of High-Dose Cyclophosphamide, Bortezomib, Doxorubicin, and Dexamethasone for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma and Plasma Cell Leukemia

BACKGROUND

Multiple myeloma (MM) usually follows a clinical course leading to refractoriness and limited treatment options in advanced stages, which might need bridge therapies to either autologous stem cell transplantation or novel therapies. We report our experience with the high-dose chemotherapy mCBAD (modified cyclophosphamide, bortezomib, doxorubicin, and dexamethasone) regimen in newly diagnosed MM (NDMM), relapsed/refractory MM (RRMM), and plasma cell leukemia (PCL) patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We searched our electronic records database for MM patients who received mCBAD from 2010 to 2016 for 28-day cycles of cyclophosphamide 350 mg/m² intravenously (I.V.) twice daily with mesna 400 mg/m² I.V. daily (days 1-4), bortezomib 1.3 mg/m² subcutaneously/I.V. (days 1, 4, 8, 11), doxorubicin 9 mg/m² daily continuous infusion (days 1-4), dexamethasone 40 mg orally daily (on days 1-4, 9-12, 17-20). International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) criteria were used for response assessment and diagnosis. Descriptive statistics, Fisher exact test, χ², Wilcoxon rank sum, and Kaplan-Meier were used for statistical purposes.

RESULTS

One hundred forty patients met the inclusion criteria. A median of 2 cycles of therapy was administered. The overall response rate was 85% in patients with RRMM (n = 116) and 100% in NDMM (n = 13) and PCL (n = 11) patients. Respective median progression-free survival (mPFS) for NDMM, PCL, and RRMM were 19.61 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.26 to not applicable [NA]), 7.56 months (95% CI, 4.7 to NA), and 4.64 months (95% CI, 3.75-6.73). Patients with RRMM who used mCBAD as a bridge to autologous transplant (36.2%) had mPFS (11.48 months; 95% CI, 7.52-15.9 months) compared with those who did not (mPFS: 3.19 months; 95% CI, 2.4-3.75 months). Cytopenias occurred in more than 90% of patients, and febrile neutropenia was noted in 26%. All cases of treatment-related mortality (8%) occurred in patients with RRMM, except for 1 patient with PCL.

CONCLUSION

mCBAD results in high response rates in myeloma and PCL, however, with high treatment-related mortality. Its use in RRMM should be limited to patients who have immediate need for therapy without other treatment options and who have good performance status (score of 0-1) or NDMM if novel agents are not available depending on practice setting. mCBAD can be a treatment option for patients with PCL.

Survival rate of multiple myeloma patients in Indonesia: A retrospective study in multiple myeloma at a single institution

Introduction

To evaluate the response and the correlation between survival and prognostic factors in 32 patients with multiple myeloma.

Method

We recruited 32 patients (18 men and 14 women) with mean age 59 years old who were diagnosed with multiple myeloma that were treated with surgery (n = 21) and without surgery (n = 11). 9 patients underwent hemiarthroplasty, 14 patients underwent open reduction and internal fixation and 4 patients underwent spinal decompression and posterior pedicular instrumentation from January 2012 to December 2017. In this group, there were 6 patients who underwent more than one surgeries. Patients were classified using the International Staging System (ISS) for multiple myeloma by evaluated albumin and β₂-microglobulin level.

Results

The mean follow up period for 32 patients was 30.2 months (range, 3–65 months) with 7 patients in ISS stage I, 22 patients in ISS stage II and 3 patients in ISS stage III. The median survival duration was 28 months (95% CI). We documented the median survival for ISS stage II disease was 29 months, stage III disease 6 months and stage I disease 16 months with the median age of ISS stage I, II, and III disease was 65, 59, 60 years respectively. Survival correlation with ISS stage (p = 0.009), the hemoglobin level (p = 0.772), and the calcium level (p = 0.926).

Conclusions

The survival rate was lower in patients with higher ISS stage for this disease. Survival rate seems to be better among younger patients than in older ones even with lower ISS stage of this disease.

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Multiple myeloma remains an incurable disease that the survival rate was lower in patients with higher ISS stage.

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Regarding the prognostic impact of age, survival seems to be better among patients younger than in older patients.

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In this study, calcium and hemoglobin level is not correlated with the prognosis of patients with multiple myeloma.

Parental longevity and survival among patients with multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance: a population-based study

Parental longevity is associated with an increased life expectancy; results with regard to specific diseases are conflicting. There are limited data focusing on host characteristics and their effect on survival among multiple myeloma (MM) patients and individuals with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the impact of parental longevity on survival of patients with MM and MGUS. A total of 4675 patients with MM, 6812 MGUS patients and 13 398 population-based controls for MM as well as 19 110 controls for MGUS, from 1988 to 2013, were included in the study. Longevity was defined as >90 years of age. Among MM patients, parental longevity was associated with a decreased risk of death [hazard ratio (HR) = 0·92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0·84-0·99] and the same was true for MGUS patients (HR = 0·87, 95% CI 0·78-0·96). Having one long lived parent significantly decreased the risk of death in both groups, but was not statistically significant when both parents exceeded 90 years of age. In conclusion, parental longevity decreases the risk of death for patients with MM and MGUS which may reflect the importance of the host's genetic and environmental factors in relation to survival.

Thromboembolic disease in palliative and end-of-life care: A narrative review

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is both common and a potential contributor to symptom burden in patients receiving palliative and end-of-life care. Many of the VTE treatment and prophylaxis recommendations are drawn from data of clinical trials assessing conventional VTE and cancer-associated thrombosis that excluded patients receiving specialist palliative or hospice care. In this group, the epidemiology of VTE and associated outcomes, as well as the risks and benefits of treatment in keeping with a palliative approach are of growing clinical and research interest. This narrative review summarizes current knowledge and challenges in the management of thromboembolic disease in palliative care, highlighting the complexity of decisions surrounding VTE treatment and prophylaxis.

Development of an Initial Conceptual Model of Multiple Myeloma to Support Clinical and Health Economics Decision Making

Background. We aimed to develop and validate a conceptual model of multiple myeloma (MM) that characterizes the attributes affecting disease progression and patient outcomes, and the relationships between them. Methods. Systematic and targeted literature reviews identified disease- and patient-specific attributes of MM that affect disease progression and outcomes. These attributes were validated by a Delphi panel of four international MM experts, and a physician-validated model was constructed. Real-world clinical data from the Czech Registry of Monoclonal Gammopathies (RMG) was used to confirm the relationships between attributes using pairwise correlations and multiple Cox regression analysis. Results. The Delphi panel reached consensus that most cytogenetic abnormalities influenced disease activity, which results in symptoms and complications and affects overall survival (OS). Comorbidities and complications also affect OS. The entire panel agreed that quality of life was influenced by comorbidities, age, complications, and symptoms. Consensus was not reached in some cases, in particular, the influence of del(17p) on complications. The relationships between attributes were confirmed using pairwise analysis of real-world data from the Czech RMG; most of the correlations identified were statistically significant and the strength of the correlations changed with successive relapses. Czech RMG data were also used to confirm significant predictors of OS included in the model, such as age, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and extramedullary disease. Conclusions. This validated conceptual model can be used for economic modeling and clinical decision making. It could also inform the development of disease-based models to explore the impact of disease progression and treatment on outcomes in patients with MM.

3-Bromopyruvate as a potent anticancer therapy in honor and memory of the late Professor André Goffeau

3-Bromopyruvate (3BP) is a small, highly reactive molecule formed by bromination of pyruvate. In the year 2000, the antitumor properties of 3BP were discovered. Studies using animal models proved its high efficacy for anticancer therapy with no apparent side effects. This was also found to be the case in a limited number of cancer patients treated with 3BP. Due to the "Warburg effect," most tumor cells exhibit metabolic changes, for example, increased glucose consumption and lactic acid production resulting from mitochondrial-bound overexpressed hexokinase 2. Such alterations promote cell migration, immortality via inhibition of apoptosis, and less dependence on the availability of oxygen. Significantly, these attributes also make cancer cells more sensitive to agents, such as 3BP that inhibits energy production pathways without harming normal cells. This selectivity of 3BP is mainly due to overexpressed monocarboxylate transporters in cancer cells. Furthermore, 3BP is not a substrate for any pumps belonging to the ATP-binding cassette superfamily, which confers resistance to a variety of drugs. Also, 3BP has the capacity to induce multiple forms of cell death, by, for example, ATP depletion resulting from inactivation of both glycolytic and mitochondrial energy production pathways. In addition to its anticancer property, 3BP also exhibits antimicrobial activity. Various species of microorganisms are characterized by different susceptibility to 3BP inhibition. Among tested strains, the most sensitive was found to be the pathogenic yeast-like fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Significantly, studies carried out in our laboratories have shown that 3BP exhibits a remarkable capacity to eradicate cancer cells, fungi, and algae.

Minimal residual disease and log-reduction of plasma cells are associated with superior response after double autologous stem cell transplant in younger patients with multiple myeloma

BACKGROUND

Optimization of chemotherapy regimens in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) has led to increase the frequency of cases with complete response (CR). Nonetheless, many MM patients still experience relapse, suggesting that CR represents a suboptimal response criteria, and that new therapeutic strategies are needed after single transplant. However, the role of double autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) as new adjunctive strategy remains to be elucidated. Indeed, we investigated the role of minimal residual disease (MRD) and log-reduction of plasma cells (PCs) as predictors of outcome and in quantifying the degree of tumor reduction after any ASCT.

METHODS

MRD and log-reduction were assessed by a six-color flow cytometry (FC) at different time-points: post induction, post first-, and post-second ASCT.

RESULTS

A significant difference was evidenced among the three time points for both log-reduction (P < 0.001) and MRD (P = 0.005). MRD levels after double ASCT were lower than MRD levels achieved after single ASCT (P = 0.005) and after induction (P < 0.001). Frequency of MRD positive patients after double ASCT was significantly lower rather than after the first ASCT (P = 0.008) and after induction (P = 0.004). Interestingly, a significant reduction of PFS was observed in patients with an unfavorable-risk cytogenetic (P < 0.001) and patients with MRD over 0.01% (P = 0.001) as well as log-reduction lower than 2.57 (P = 0.018) after double ASCT.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that a better clearance of myeloma cells is observed after the double ASCT, and a longer PFS is associated with a lower MRD. © 2018 International Clinical Cytometry Society.

Clinical predictors of long-term survival in newly diagnosed transplant eligible multiple myeloma - an IMWG Research Project

Purpose: multiple myeloma is considered an incurable hematologic cancer but a subset of patients can achieve long-term remissions and survival. The present study examines the clinical features of long-term survival as it correlates to depth of disease response. Patients & Methods: this was a multi-institutional, international, retrospective analysis of high-dose melphalan-autologous stem cell transplant (HDM-ASCT) eligible MM patients included in clinical trials. Clinical variable and survival data were collected from 7291 MM patients from Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, the Nordic Myeloma Study Group and the United States. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to assess progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Relative survival (RS) and statistical cure fractions (CF) were computed for all patients with available data. Results: achieving CR at 1 year was associated with superior PFS (median PFS 3.3 years vs. 2.6 years, p < 0.0001) as well as OS (median OS 8.5 years vs. 6.3 years, p < 0.0001). Clinical variables at diagnosis associated with 5-year survival and 10-year survival were compared with those associated with 2-year death. In multivariate analysis, age over 65 years (OR 1.87, p = 0.002), IgA Isotype (OR 1.53, p = 0.004), low albumin < 3.5 g/dL (OR = 1.36, p = 0.023), elevated beta 2 microglobulin ≥ 3.5 mg/dL (OR 1.86, p < 0.001), serum creatinine levels ≥ 2 mg/dL (OR 1.77, p = 0.005), hemoglobin levels < 10 g/dL (OR 1.55, p = 0.003), and platelet count < 150k/μL (OR 2.26, p < 0.001) appeared to be negatively associated with 10-year survival. The relative survival for the cohort was ~0.9, and the statistical cure fraction was 14.3%. Conclusions: these data identify CR as an important predictor of long-term survival for HDM-ASCT eligible MM patients. They also identify clinical variables reflective of higher disease burden as poor prognostic markers for long-term survival.

Prevention Is the Best Treatment: The Case for Understanding the Transition from Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance to Myeloma

Multiple myeloma is an invariably fatal cancer of plasma cells. Despite tremendous advances in treatment, this malignancy remains incurable in most individuals. We postulate that strategies aimed at prevention have the potential to be more effective in preventing myeloma-related death than additional pharmaceutical strategies aimed at treating advanced disease. Here, we present a rationale for the development of prevention therapy and highlight potential target areas of study.

Prescription Drug Coverage and Outcomes of Myeloma Therapy Among Medicare Beneficiaries

PURPOSE

Novel parenteral (bortezomib) and oral (lenalidomide) therapies have improved survival in myeloma, but the standard Medicare benefit covers only parenteral drugs. We examined the association between prescription drug coverage, receipt of therapy, and survival among Medicare beneficiaries with myeloma.

METHODS

Using SEER-Medicare data, we identified enrollment in a Medicare Part D plan (PDP) or other creditable prescription drug coverage (OCC) among 9,755 beneficiaries who were diagnosed with myeloma in 2006 to 2011. We examined the receipt of active myeloma therapy and that of classic cytotoxic agents or bortezomib as first-line regimen and overall survival. We report relative risk (RR) for binary outcome comparisons and 3-year restricted mean survival time (RMST) ratios, with 95% CI, adjusting for baseline patient- and disease-related characteristics. Beneficiaries with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a cancer that is uniformly treated with parenteral chemotherapy, served as a comparison cohort.

RESULTS

Compared with beneficiaries without prescription drug coverage, PDP or OCC enrollees were more likely to receive active myeloma care, and PDP enrollees were less frequently treated with parenteral agents (adjusted RR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.80 to 0.93) or classic cytotoxic agents in particular (RR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.76). Overall survival was significantly better for beneficiaries with PDP coverage (adjusted RMST ratio, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.11 to 1.20) or OCC (RMST ratio, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.21). In contrast, we observed no survival differences by prescription drug coverage status in the control cohort with lymphoma.

CONCLUSION

Prescription drug coverage is associated with decreased use of classic cytotoxic chemotherapy and better survival among Medicare beneficiaries with myeloma, which suggests improved access to all existing treatment options. As oral targeted agents increasingly replace parenteral chemotherapy in oncology, adjustments in coverage policy are needed to ensure access to optimal treatment.

Evolution of survivorship in lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia: Metamorphosis of the field into long term follow-up care

Recent advancements in cancer care, coupled with early detection and an aging population have resulted in significant growth of cancer survivors. Long term follow up of such survivors is essential given the heightened risk for development of late effects such as secondary neoplasms, cardiovascular disease or psychosocial dysfunction among others. As more patients with hematologic malignancies are cured or managed over protracted periods of time, awareness of such issues is paramount for the practicing clinicians for optimal patient management. In this review, we describe the genesis of the field of cancer survivorship, and then it's gentle metamorphosis into multiple sub-fields currently by presenting literature relevant to late effects commonly seen in Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic leukemia and multiple myeloma. We will discuss the strengths and pitfalls of the existing models of survivorship care in hematologic malignancies and conclude with expert perspective on how to move the field forward.

Prevalence of bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw-like lesions is increased in a chemotherapeutic dose-dependent manner in mice

Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) worsens oral health-related quality of life. Most BRONJ occurs in multiple myeloma or metastatic breast cancer patients treated with bisphosphonate/chemotherapeutic combination therapies. Cyclophosphamide (CY), an alkylating chemotherapeutic drug, is used to treat multiple myeloma, although its use has been recently reduced. The aim of this study was to clarify the effects of CY dose on tooth extraction socket healing when CY is used with or without bisphosphonate in mice. Low-dose CY (50 mg/kg; CY-L), moderate-dose CY (100 mg/kg; CY-M), high-dose CY (150 mg/kg; CY-H), and bisphosphonate [Zometa (ZA): 0.05 mg/kg] were administered for 7 weeks. Each dose of CY and ZA in combination was also administered for 7 weeks. Both maxillary first molars were extracted at 3 weeks after the initiation of drug administration. Euthanasia was performed at 4 weeks post-extraction. Gross wound healing, microcomputed tomography analysis, histomorphometry, and immunohistochemistry were used to quantitatively evaluate osseous and soft tissue wound healing of tooth extraction sockets. ZA monotherapy induced no BRONJ-like lesions in mice. CY monotherapy rarely induced open wounds, though delayed osseous wound healing occurred in a CY dose-dependent manner. In contrast, CY/ZA combination therapy prevalently induced BRONJ-like lesions with compromised osseous and soft tissue healing in a CY dose-dependent manner. Interestingly, anti-angiogenesis was noted regardless of CY dose and ZA administration, even though only CY-M/ZA and CY-H/ZA combination therapies induced BRONJ-like lesions. Our findings suggest that high-dose CY may be associated with the development of BRONJ following tooth extraction only when CY is used together with ZA. In addition to anti-angiogenesis, other factors may contribute to the pathoetiology of BRONJ.

Rapidly changing myeloma epidemiology in the general population: Increased incidence, older patients, and longer survival

The incidence of multiple myeloma is characterized by a steep increase with advancing age. Dramatic improvements in survival have been reported in clinical trials; however, elderly patients are generally underrepresented in these. The aims of this study are to review patterns of incidence and survival in multiple myeloma in the general population. We searched PubMed for population-based studies on trends in incidence and survival published between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2017 and based on regional or national cancer registries and report the following results of the review. The age-adjusted incidence of multiple myeloma has increased during the second half of the twentieth century in some countries but remained stable in areas with high case ascertainment and access to universal medical care. The crude incidence is increasing globally due to an aging population. Survival rates have improved, and 5-year relative survival rates are now around 50% and over 60% in patients 65-70 years or younger. Preliminary data suggest a 3-fold increase in the prevalence of multiple myeloma. We conclude that the number of multiple myeloma patients is increasing in the general population due to (i) aging populations and (ii) more patients living longer due to modern drugs.

Identifying Educational Needs and Practice Gaps of European Hematologists and Hematology Nurses in the Treatment and Management of Multiple Myeloma

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text

This needs-assessment aimed to identify clinical challenges faced by hematologists and hematology nurses in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of multiple myeloma, as well as contextual barriers hindering optimal care of patients with multiple myeloma. This manuscript focuses on key findings in relation to decision-making regarding new treatment options. A mixed methods study consisting of qualitative (from semistructured interviews) and quantitative data (from an online survey) was conducted in 8 European countries among hematologists and hematology nurses. The triangulated data led to the identification of 3 key findings related to decision-making: (1) Educational needs regarding mechanisms of action and side effect profiles of new therapies, (2) educational needs regarding the sequencing and combination of new agents with current therapies, and (3) contextual barriers to the integration of new agents. Specific knowledge and skill gaps were identified as causalities of the educational needs, providing information to guide future educational programs. Of note, 34% of hematologists and 69% of nurses reported suboptimal knowledge of the mechanisms of action of new agents and 30% of hematologists reported suboptimal skills integrating new agents in combination with current treatments. This needs-assessment highlighted the importance to address the educational needs and their underlying causes through medical education activities to ensure hematologists and hematology nurses are up-to-date with the latest treatments in the field as they become available. The contextual barriers identified should be considered when designing the educational programs to ensure content is applicable to the clinical reality of learners.

Trends of incidence, mortality, and survival of multiple myeloma in Switzerland between 1994 and 2013

BACKGROUND

Treatment of multiple myeloma has changed considerably over the last two decades with remarkable reduction in mortality rates in clinical trials and in population-based studies. Since health care systems and patient management differ between countries, population-based data from cancer registries with high coverage may provide further insight into real-life achievements and unmet needs. We report on the first population-based nation-wide study of incidence, mortality and survival of multiple myeloma in Switzerland covering the era of autologous stem cell transplantation and the first proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective registry study with data from the National Institute for Cancer Epidemiology and Registration (NICER) database in Switzerland from 1994 to 2013.

RESULTS

We identified 5770 patients with multiple myeloma. Incidence has increased from 419 new cases per year in 1994-1998 to 557 new cases per year in 2009-2013 while the age-adjusted incidence rate remained stable at 4.7-5.0 per 100'000 person-years. Five- and 10-year relative survival increased from 32.6% (95%CI 29.3-36.0) and 17.8% (95%CI 14.9-21.0) in 1994-1998 to 46.4% (95%CI 43.3-49.3) and 25.0% (95%CI 21.9-28.3) in 2009-2013.

CONCLUSION

The increase in incidence can be attributed to demographic changes. There is a trend to longer relative survival in all age groups with substantial increase in myeloma patients aged less than 75 years and only minimal changes in older persons.

The Diagnosis and Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

BACKGROUND

Multiple myeloma is a malignant disease of plasma cells with a worldwide incidence of 6-7 cases per 100 000 persons per year. It is among the 20 most common types of cancer in Germany.

METHODS

This review is based on pertinent publications up to December 2015 that were retrieved by a selective search of PubMed employing the terms "multiple myeloma" AND "therapy" OR "diagnostic." Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized controlled trials, and treatment recommendations from Germany and abroad were considered.

RESULTS

The diagnostic evaluation of multiple myeloma comprises thorough history-taking and physical examination, various laboratory tests including analysis of a 24-hour urine sample, a bone-marrow biopsy, and skeletal radiography. Systemic treatment should be administered only when organ damage has been diagnosed. The type of treatment to be given is chosen individually on the basis of the patient's age, comorbidities, and risk profile. High-dose therapy with autologous stem-cell transplantation remains the treatment of choice for patients under age 70 who are otherwise in good health. For patients who are not candidates for high-dose therapy or who have had a recurrence of multiple myeloma after prior high-dose therapy, there are a number of further conventional treatment options. Patients need not only systemic antineoplastic treatment, but also supportive treatment for the prevention of treatment-induced toxicity and myeloma-associated organ damage.

CONCLUSION

Recent therapeutic advances have made the treatment of multiple myeloma both more complex and more costly. In particular, the median survival of patients with multiple myeloma has been markedly prolonged through the use of targeted drugs such as proteasome inhibitors and immune modulators.

Utilization of agents to prevent skeletal-related events among patients with multiple myeloma: analysis of real-world data

PURPOSE

This study examined real-world utilization patterns of bone-targeted agents (BTA) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM).

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, adults with an MM diagnosis recorded in 2012-2014 were identified from electronic health records in the Oncology Services Comprehensive Electronic Records (OSCER) database. Patients received zoledronic acid (ZA) or pamidronate (PA) on/after first MM diagnosis recorded in the study period, had no BTA use in prior 6 months, and were followed through earliest of May 31, 2015 or last clinic visit. Patients with any solid tumor diagnosis were excluded. Time to BTA initiation, compliance (≥ 12 administrations in a year), switching, and non-persistence (switch or ≥ 90-day gap in therapy) were described by agent and follow-up period.

RESULTS

Among 9,617 patients with MM, 3,735 (38.8%) received a BTA. Most patients (90.9%) received ZA, with first BTA use generally seen within 3 months of first observed MM diagnosis (ZA 76.1%, PA 75.1%). A minority of ZA (27.4%) and PA (23.0%) patients were compliant in Year 1, with lower compliance in Year 2 (19.8% and 15.6%, respectively). The median time to non-persistence was 16.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 15.4-17.4) months for ZA and 13.8 (95% CI 11.5-15.4) months for PA. Persistence was 86% at 6 months and 34% at 24 months for ZA, and 77% and 30% for PA, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These results highlight the possibility of suboptimal prevention of skeletal-related events due to non-compliant dosing and non-persistence after patients initiate BTA therapy.