Mitigating the risk of venous thromboembolism in patients with multiple myeloma receiving immunomodulatory-based therapy

Reporting of adverse events of treatment interventions in multiple myeloma: an overview of systematic reviews

The present study is an overview of systematic reviews focusing on adverse events of antimyeloma treatments. It provides a systematic description of adverse events as they are reported in the systematic reviews as well as a critical appraisal of included reviews. We conducted a comprehensive literature search in the most widely used electronic databases looking for systematic reviews that had an adverse event of an antimyeloma treatment intervention as primary outcome. Two independent reviewers conducted selection of included studies and data extraction on predesigned online forms and assessed study quality using AMSTAR 2. Overall corrected covered area (CCA) was calculated to examine the overlap of primary studies across systematic reviews. After screening eligible studies, 23 systematic reviews were included in this overview. Seven reviews with overall CCA of 14.7% examined cardiovascular adverse events of different drugs, including immunomodulatory drugs and proteasome inhibitors (mainly carfilzomib). Nine focused on infections, presenting with overall CCA of 5.8%, each one focused on a different drug or drug class. Three studied thromboembolism in patients treated either with lenalidomide, any immunomodulatory drug, or with daratumumab and had an overall CCA equal to 1.5%. Four more reviews focused on bortezomib-associated neurotoxicity, carfilzomib-associated renal toxicity, or second primary malignancies as an adverse event of lenalidomide or anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody treatment. The quality of included studies as judged by AMSTAR 2 was mostly critically low. Absence of a priori registered protocol and formal assessment of risk of bias of included primary studies were the most common shortcomings. Reporting of antimyeloma drug-associated toxicity is supported by multiple systematic reviews; nevertheless, methodological quality of existing reviews is mostly low.

Rediscovering hemostasis abnormalities in multiple myeloma: The new era

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy arisen from the abnormal proliferation of clonal plasma cells. It has a high risk of developing bleeding and thrombotic complications, which are related to poor prognosis and decreased survival. Multiple factors are involved in the breaking of the hemostasis balance, including disease specific factors, patient-specific factors, and drug factors that change pro-and anticoagulant and fibrinolysis. Recently, with the introduction of new treatments such as monoclonal antibodies, chimeric antigen receptor modified T-cell therapy, antibody-drug conjugates directed against BCMA, programmed death-1 inhibitor, export protein 1 inhibitors, histone deacetylase inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors and Bcl-2 inhibitors, the therapy of MM patients has entered into a new era. Furthermore, it arouses a question whether these new treatments would alter the hemostasis balance in MM patients, which highlights the importance of the underlying pathophysiology of hemostasis abnormalities in MM, and on prophylaxis approaches. In this review, we updated the mechanisms of hemostasis abnormalities in MM, the impact of the new drugs on hemostasis balance and reliable therapeutic strategies.

The Risk of Venous Thromboembolism and Ischemic Stroke Stratified by VTE Risk Following Multiple Myeloma: A Korean Population-Based Cohort Study

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, with elevated rates of arterial thrombosis and venous thromboembolism (VTE) and ischemic stroke (IS). We aimed to estimate the incidence of VTE and IS categorized by the VTE risk grade among individuals with MM in Korea. Additionally, we explored the potential of the IMPEDE VTE score as a tool for assessing IS risk in patients with MM. Methods: This retrospective cohort study comprised 37,168 individuals aged ≥ 18 years newly diagnosed with MM between January 2008 and December 2021 using the representative claims database of the Korean population. The risk of the incidence of VTE and IS within 6 months after MM diagnosis was stratified based on high-risk (IMPEDE VTE score ≥ 8) and low-risk (<8) categories. The hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models. Results: The VTE incidence was 120.4 per 1000 person-years and IS incidence was 149.3 per 1000 person-years. Statistically significant differences were observed in the cumulative incidence rates of VTE between groups with high and low VTE scores (p < 0.001) and between individuals aged ≤ 65 years (p < 0.001) and those with a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) ≥ 3 compared to lower scores (p < 0.001). Additionally, the cumulative incidence rate of IS differed significantly across all groups (p < 0.001). The HR for the high-risk group in VTE and IS occurrence was 1.59 (95% CI, 1.26-2.00) and 3.47 (95% CI, 2.99-4.02), respectively. Conclusions: It is important to screen and manage high-risk groups for the early development of VTE or IS in patients with newly diagnosed MM.

Cancer-associated thrombosis in hematologic malignancies

Patients with hematologic malignancies are often complicated not only by severe bleeding due to thrombocytopenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation but also by thromboembolic events, just like in patients with solid cancers, and these events can negatively impact patient outcomes. Nevertheless, the prevention and treatment of cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT) in hematologic malignancies has not been adequately investigated due to the limited size, heterogeneity, and unique pathophysiology of the patient population. This article summarizes the current understanding, risk factors, prediction models, and optimal prevention and treatment strategies of CAT in hematologic malignancies on a disease-by-disease basis, including acute leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Specific considerations of novel molecular targeted therapeutics introduced in recent years, such as immunomodulatory drugs and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, are also discussed based on the latest clinical trials.

Validation of the IMPEDE VTE score for prediction of venous thromboembolism in Chinese patients with multiple myeloma: A single-center retrospective cohort study

Multiple myeloma (MM) significantly increases the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) within 6 months of treatment initiation. The IMPEDE VTE score is a VTE risk prediction model which is recently incorporated into the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines, but it lacks validation among Asians, including Chinese MM patients. We performed a retrospective chart review of 405 Chinese with newly diagnosed MM who started therapy at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital between April 2013 to October 2022. The 6-month cumulative incidence of VTE was 3.8 % (95 % CI:1.6-7.6), 8.6 % (95 % CI: 5.3-21.9) and 40.5 % (95 % CI: 24.9-55.7) in the low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups (P < 0.001), respectively. The C-statistic of the IMPEDE VTE scores for predicting VTE within 6 months of treatment initiation was 0.74 (95 % CI: 0.65-0.83). Of note, in this single-center cohort study, we propose that the anticoagulant LMWH may be more effective than the antiplatelet aspirin in potentially preventing VTE in newly diagnosed MM patients. Our findings suggest that the IMPEDE VTE score is a valid evidence-based risk stratification tool in Chinese patients with newly diagnosed MM.

Direct oral anticoagulants versus aspirin for primary thromboprophylaxis in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing outpatient therapy: A systematic review and updated meta-analysis

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are at an elevated risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which is further increased for those undergoing anti-myeloma therapy. Current guidelines suggest low-dose direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) as an alternative to aspirin for primary thromboprophylaxis in this population, but data comparing these two therapies are limited. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare DOACs with aspirin for primary thromboprophylaxis in individuals undergoing outpatient anti-myeloma therapy. Studies were selected when comparing DOACs versus aspirin for thrombotic and haemorrhagic outcomes. We included 10 randomised controlled trials and observational studies comprising 1026 patients with MM who received primary thromboprophylaxis with DOACs (n = 337) or aspirin (n = 689). DOAC thromboprophylaxis was associated with a significantly lower incidence of VTE compared with aspirin (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.16-0.68; p < 0.001). Major, clinically relevant non-major and minor bleeding event rates did not differ significantly between groups. Overall, our meta-analysis suggests that DOACs may be a preferable option to aspirin for the prevention of MM-related thrombosis. However, these results should be interpreted in the context of heterogeneous baseline population characteristics and potential bias from including observational studies. Further research is needed to evaluate the optimal thromboprophylaxis strategy, particularly in high-risk individuals.