Treatment options for refractory/relapsed multiple myeloma: an updated evidence synthesis by network meta-analysis

Comparative effectiveness of lenalidomide/dexamethasone-based triplet regimens for treatment of relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma in the United States: An analysis of real-world electronic health records data

BACKGROUND

This retrospective longitudinal study compared the effectiveness of dexamethasone+lenalidomide (Rd)-based triplet regimens containing proteasome inhibitors (PIs) ixazomib (IRd), carfilzomib (KRd), and bortezomib (VRd) or monoclonal antibodies (MABs) elotuzumab (ERd) and daratumumab (DRd) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM)-including those with high cytogenetic risk-primarily treated at community oncology clinics in the United States.

METHODS

Electronic health records of adult RRMM patients in a deidentified real-world database (01/01/2014-09/30/2020) who initiated IRd, KRd, VRd, ERd, or DRd in the second or later line of therapy (LOT) were analyzed. The index date was the date of initiation of each LOT and baseline was the 6-month pre-index period. Duration of therapy (DOT), time to next therapy (TTNT), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) were compared across regimens with multivariable Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

Of the 1,185 patients contributing 1,332 LOTs, 985 had standard cytogenetic risk (median age, 71 years) and 180 had high risk (median age, 69 years). Compared with other regimens, DRd was associated with longer DOT overall (adjusted hazard ratio [95 % confidence interval]: 1.84 [1.42, 2.38] vs. KRd, 1.65 [1.20, 2.28] vs. ERd, 1.58 [1.23, 2.04] vs. IRd, and 1.54 [1.18, 2.00] vs. VRd), and longer TTNT and PFS. KRd was associated with shorter OS compared with DRd (1.45 [1.01, 2.08]) and VRd (1.32 [1.01, 1.73]). High-risk patients had similar outcomes with all triplet regimens.

CONCLUSION

Although DRd improved clinical outcomes overall, Rd-based triplet regimens containing a PI or MAB are similarly effective in high-risk RRMM.

Cost-effectiveness and budget impact analysis of Daratumumab, Lenalidomide and dexamethasone for relapsed-refractory multiple myeloma

BACKGROUND

The prominent efficacy in terms of increasing progression-free survival (PFS) of Daratumumab, Lenalidomide and dexamethasone (DRd) triplet therapy versus Carfilzomib, Lenalidomide and dexamethasone (KRd) was proven previously in relapsed-refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). However, the cost effectiveness of DRd versus KRd is unknown.

METHODS

We developed a Markov model by using an Iranian payer perspective and a 10-year time horizon to estimate the healthcare cost, Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and life years gain (LYG) for DRd and KRd triplet therapies. Clinical data were obtained from meta-analyses and randomized clinical trials (RCTs). One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed to assess model uncertainty. Budget impact analysis of 5 years of treatment under the DRd triplet therapy was also analysed.

RESULTS

DRd was estimated to be more effective compared to KRd, providing 0.28 QALY gain over the modelled horizon. DRd-treated patients incurred $264 in total additional costs. The incremental cost utility ratio (ICUR) and cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) were $956/QALY and $472/LYG respectively. The budget impact analysis indicates that adding Daratumumab to Lenalidomide and dexamethasone regimen, in the first 5 years, will increase the healthcare system's expenses by $6.170.582.

CONCLUSION

DRd triplet therapy compared to KRd is a cost-effective regimen for RRMM under Iran willingness-to-pay threshold.

Therapeutic potential of anti-PIK3CG treatment for multiple myeloma via inhibiting c-Myc pathway

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant plasma cell disease. The activity of PIK3CG (PI3K catalytic subunit γ) is regulated directly by G-protein-coupled receptor and has been confirmed to be highly expressed in MM cells. This study aimed to determine the effect of pharmacological inhibition of PIK3CG on MM. We found that different concentrations of the PIK3CG inhibitor AS-605240 could suppress the growth of MM cell lines and the expression of c-Myc. The combination of PIK3CG inhibitor and the chemotherapy Melphalan could effectively inhibit the proliferation and migration of MM cells, promote the cell apoptosis, and decrease the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and the expression of vimentin. The expression of proto-oncogene c-Myc was decreased and the sensitivity of cells to chemotherapeutic drugs was enhanced. Collectively, PIK3CG regulates growth of MM via c-Myc pathway, thus emerging as a promising molecular targeted therapy.

Effect modification in network meta-analyses for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

To systematically review and meta-analyse the evidence for effect modification by refractory status and number of treatment lines in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM); and to assess whether effect modification is likely to invalidate network meta-analyses (NMA) that assume negligible modification.

DESIGN

Systematic review, meta-analysis and simulation.

DATA SOURCES

We systematically searched the literature (e.g., OVID Medline) to identify eligible publications in February 2020 and regularly updated the search until January 2022. We also contacted project stakeholders (including industry) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Phase 2 and 3 randomised controlled trials reporting stratified estimates for comparisons with at least one of a prespecified set of treatments relevant for use in Norwegian RRMM patients.

OUTCOMES

We used meta-analysis to estimate relative HRs (RHRs) for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) with respect to refractory status and number of treatment lines. We used the estimated RHRs in simulations to estimate the percentage of NMA results expected to differ significantly in the presence versus absence of effect modification.

RESULTS

Among the 42 included publications, stratified estimates were published by and extracted from up to 18 (43%) publications and on as many as 8364 patients. Within-study evidence for effect modification is very weak (p>0.05 for 47 of 49 sets of stratified estimates). The largest RHR estimated was 1.32 (95% CI 1.18 to 1.49) for the modifying effect of refractory status on HR for PFS. Simulations suggest that, in the worst case, this would result in only 4.48% (95% CI 4.42% to 4.54%) of NMA estimates differing statistically significantly in the presence versus absence of effect modification.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the available evidence, effect modification appears to be sufficiently small that it can be neglected in adequately performed NMAs. NMAs can probably be relied on to provide estimates of HRs for OS and PFS in RRMM, subject to caveats discussed herein.

Cost utility and budget impact analysis of dexamethasone compared with bortezomib and lenalidomide for the treatment of second line multiple myeloma from a South African public health perspective

BACKGROUND

Multiple myeloma is an incurable haematological malignancy that is associated with a high probability of relapse. The survival of relapsed patients has been greatly improved by the development of novel drugs such as lenalidomide and bortezomib. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of these drugs as second-line treatment for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) patients in the South African public health care system.

METHODS

We modelled 3 treatment strategies for second-line RRMM treatment: dexamethasone (standard of care), bortezomib (BORT) and lenalidomide plus dexamethasone (LEN/DEX) from the South African public health perspective. For each strategy we modelled a hypothetical cohort of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients using a three-state Markov model over a 15-year time horizon. Efficacy and utilization data were obtained from the MM009/010 and APEX trials and external studies. Price and cost data were from local sources and presented in 2021 South African Rands. Outcomes were reported in quality adjusted life years (QALYs). Incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated for BORT and LEN/DEX and compared to a local cost-effectiveness threshold of R38 500 per DALY averted using the assumption that 1 DALY averted is equal to 1 QALY gained. A budget impact analysis was conducted to evaluate the financial impact of the introduction of BORT and LEN/DEX, respectively. Deterministic sensitivity analysis was undertaken to account for parameter uncertainties.

RESULTS

The modelled total costs of DEX, BORT and LEN/DEX were estimated to be R8 312, R234 996 and R1 135 323, respectively. DEX treatment provided 1.14 QALYs while BORT and LEN/DEX treatments provided 1.49 and 2.22 QALYs, respectively. The ICER of BORT versus DEX was R654 649 and that of LEN/DEX versus BORT was R1 225 542. Both BORT and LEN/DEX treatments were not cost-effective relative to a cost-effectiveness threshold of R38 500 per DALY averted. Both BORT and LEN/DEX significantly increase the 1 year budget-cost of RRMM treatment.

CONCLUSION

Both BORT and LEN/DEX treatments are unlikely to be cost-effective strategies for second-line treatment of RRMM in South Africa. The results indicate that the drug prices of lenalidomide and bortezomib are key drivers of value for money. Price reductions could potentially make BORT more cost-effective.

Management of Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma: Recent advances

Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for ∼10% of total hematologic malignancies worldwide. In India, the incidence of MM has increased two-fold with marked heterogeneity. Significant improvements in terms of clinical outcomes have been observed in the management of MM in recent years. However, most patients develop a disease relapse with the first or subsequent treatments. A combination of immunomodulatory drugs (thalidomide and lenalidomide) and proteasome inhibitors (PIs; bortezomib) has been the mainstay for the therapeutic management of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). This review highlights the management of RRMM with newer agents such as belantamab, carfilzomib, daratumumab, elotuzumab, ixazomib, mafadotin, selinexor, panobinostat, and venetoclax, with more focus on PIs. As a single agent and in combination with other drugs including dexamethasone and carfilzomib has been studied extensively and approved by the United States, European Union, and India. Clinical trials of these newer agents, either alone or in combination, for the treatment of RRMM in Western countries indicate survival, improved outcomes, and overall well-being. However, evidence in Indian patients is evolving from ongoing studies on carfilzomib and daratumumab, which will ascertain their efficacy and safety. Currently, several guidelines recommend carfilzomib-based, daratumumab-based, and panobinostat-based regimens in RRMM patients. Currently, with more accessible generic versions of these drugs, more Indian patients may attain survival benefits and improved quality of life.

Indirect Treatment Comparison of Daratumumab, Pomalidomide, and Dexamethasone Versus Standard of Care in Patients with Difficult-to-Treat Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

INTRODUCTION

The phase 3 APOLLO study demonstrated significantly better progression-free survival (PFS) and clinical responses with daratumumab, pomalidomide, and dexamethasone (D-Pd) versus pomalidomide and dexamethasone (Pd) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). On the basis of these results and those from the phase 1b EQUULEUS trial, D-Pd was approved in this patient population. In the absence of head-to-head data comparing D-Pd with further standard of care (SOC) therapies, indirect treatment comparisons (ITCs) can provide important information to help optimize treatment selection. The objective of this study was to indirectly compare PFS improvement with D-Pd versus daratumumab, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (D-Vd) and D-Pd versus bortezomib and dexamethasone (Vd) in patients with RRMM.

METHODS

Patient-level data were from APOLLO, EQUULEUS, and CASTOR. Three methods of adjusting imbalances in baseline characteristics including stabilized inverse probability of treatment weighting (sIPTW), cardinality matching (CM), and propensity score matching (PSM) were initially considered. CM offers mathematically guaranteed largest matched sample meeting pre-specified maximum standardized mean difference criteria for matching covariates. sIPTW and PSM were based on propensity scores derived from logistic regression. Feasibility assessment of the PSM method returned too low effective sample size to support a meaningful comparison. CM was chosen as the base case and sIPTW as a sensitivity analysis.

RESULTS

After harmonized eligibility criteria were applied, 253, 104, and 122 patients from the D-Pd, D-Vd, and Vd cohorts, respectively, were included in the ITC analyses. Some imbalances in baseline characteristics were identified between D-Pd and D-Vd/Vd cohorts that remained after adjustment. PFS hazard ratios showed significant improvement for D-Pd over D-Vd and Vd for CM and sIPTW analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

Results showed consistent PFS benefit for D-Pd versus D-Vd and Vd regardless of the adjustment technique used. These findings support the use of D-Pd versus D-Vd or Vd in patients with difficult-to-treat RRMM.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT03180736; NCT02136134, NCT01998971.

Multinomial network meta-analysis using response rates: relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma treatment rankings differ depending on the choice of outcome

Background

Due to the fast growing relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) treatment landscape, a comparison of all the available treatments was warranted. For clinical practice it is important to consider both immediate effects such as response quality and prolonged benefits such as progression-free survival (PFS) in a meta-analysis. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the choice of outcome on the treatment rankings in RRMM.

Methods

A multinomial logistic network meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the ranking of sixteen treatments based on both complete and objective response rates (CRR and ORR). Seventeen phase III randomized controlled trials from a previously performed systematic literature review were included. Treatment ranking was based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Sensitivity analysis was conducted.

Results

The ranking of treatments differed when comparing PFS hazard ratios rankings with rankings based on CRR. Pomalidomide, bortezomib and dexamethasone ranked highest, while a substantial lower ranking was observed for the triplet elotuzumab, lenalidomide, dexamethasone. The ranking of treatments did not differ when comparing PFS hazard ratios and ORR. The scenario analyses showed that the results were robust. In all scenarios the top three was dominated by the same triplets. The treatment with the highest probability of having the best PFS and ORR was the triplet daratumumab, lenalidomide plus dexamethasone in the base case.

Conclusion

This analysis shows that depending on the chosen outcome treatment rankings in RRMM may differ. When conducting NMAs, the response rate, a clinically recognized outcome, should therefore be more frequently considered.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09571-8.

A Systematic Review of Cost-Effectiveness Analyses of Novel Agents in the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma

Simple Summary

New treatments in multiple myeloma are embraced by patients and physicians but are also associated with substantial higher costs. To ensure the affordability and accessibility of health care, an evaluation of the outcomes in relation to the costs is increasingly requested. However, an up-to-date summary and assessment of the cost-effectiveness evidence for multiple myeloma treatments is currently lacking. We identified the cost-effectiveness studies currently available and show that novel treatments could improve survival with almost 4 years compared to standard of care. However, additional costs compared to standard of care could increase up to USD 535,530 per patient. The ratio between outcomes and costs is above currently accepted willingness to pay thresholds. Our results show cost-effectiveness ratios should be either improved or less favorable ratios should be accepted to ensure accessibility to promising treatments.

Abstract

Background: Novel therapies for multiple myeloma (MM) promise to improve outcomes but are also associated with substantial increasing costs. Evidence regarding cost-effectiveness of novel treatments is necessary, but a comprehensive up-to-date overview of the cost-effectiveness evidence of novel treatments is currently lacking. Methods: We searched Embase, Medline via Ovid, Web of Science and EconLIT ProQuest to identify all cost-effectiveness evaluations of novel pharmacological treatment of MM reporting cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and cost per life year (LY) gained since 2005. Quality and completeness of reporting was assessed using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards. Results: We identified 13 economic evaluations, comprising 32 comparisons. Our results show that novel agents generate additional LYs (range: 0.311–3.85) and QALYs (range: 0.1–2.85) compared to backbone regimens and 0.02 to 1.10 LYs and 0.01 to 0.91 QALYs for comparisons between regimens containing two novel agents. Lifetime healthcare costs ranged from USD 60,413 to 1,434,937 per patient. The cost-effectiveness ratios per QALY gained ranged from dominating to USD 1,369,062 for novel agents compared with backbone therapies and from dominating to USD 618,018 for comparisons between novel agents. Conclusions: Cost-effectiveness ratios of novel agents were generally above current willingness-to-pay thresholds. To ensure access, cost-effectiveness should be improved or cost-effectiveness ratios above current thresholds should be accepted.

Treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in the bortezomib and lenalidomide era: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable disease, and patients usually receive multiple lines of therapy. Due to the abundance of novel treatments for MM, we conducted a network meta-analysis to identify combinations that could fare better than others in relapsed/refractory MM, in the setting of novel drugs. We searched PubMed and Cochrane databases for phase III trials in previously treated MM that had lenalidomide or bortezomib in the control arm. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), extracted as hazard-ratio. We used the P score to rank treatments. Thirteen studies were included. All but two studies compared one novel agent against two, with or without dexamethasone. Based on the P score, daratumumab and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin had a higher probability of achieving better PFS, followed by isatuximab, carfilzomib, pomalidomide, and panobinostat. Although most overall survival data were not mature enough, the addition of a second or third novel agent to either immunomodulatory (IMID) or proteasome inhibitor (PI) backbone seemed to improve survival (HR = 0.84, 95CI 0.77-0.92). Severe adverse events were more frequent with isatuximab, panobinostat, and pomalidomide. In summary, in the absence of trials directly comparing two novel agents-based therapies, we provide a tool that indirectly compares these newer therapies and that can help physicians to prioritize some regimens over others.

Upregulation of lncRNA NR_046683 Serves as a Prognostic Biomarker and Potential Drug Target for Multiple Myeloma

Aim: To investigate the prognostic value of lncRNA NR_046683 in multiple myeloma (MM).

Methods: High-throughput lncRNA array was combined with bioinformatics techniques to screen differentially expressed lncRNA in MM. qRT-PCR was adopted to determine the expression of target lncRNAs in MM patients and controls.

Results: It was found for the first time that lncRNA NR_046683 is closely related to the prognosis of MM. It was also detected in tumor cell lines KM3, U266, especially in drug-resistant cell lines KM3/BTZ and MM1R. The NR_046683 expression differed significantly in patients of different MM subtypes and staging. Moreover, the overexpression of NR-046683 is closely related to β₂-microglobulin. We also found that the overexpression of NR-046683 correlates to chromosomal aberrations, such as del(13q14), gain 1q21, and t(4;14).

Conclusion: lncRNA NR_046683 can serve as a novel biomarker for potential drug target and prognostic prediction in MM.

Immunotherapy: A Novel Era of Promising Treatments for Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable hematological malignancy characterized by clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells in bone marrow. In the last 20 years, the introduction of autologous stem cell transplantation, followed by proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents, increased the survival of MM patients by 50%. However, still a high proportion of patients relapse and become refractory, especially, high-risk patients with adverse cytogenetics where these treatment combinations have shown limited benefit. Therefore, novel strategies, such as immunotherapy, have been developed in the last few years to help improve the survival of these patients. Immunotherapy treatments include a high number of different strategies used to attack the tumor cells by using the immune system. Here, we will review the most successful immunotherapy strategies published up to date in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) MM, including monoclonal antibodies targeting specific antigens on the tumor cells, antibodies combined with cytotoxic drugs or Antibodies Drug Conjugates, immune checkpoint inhibitors which eliminate the barriers that damper immune cells and prevent them from attacking tumor cells, bi-specific T-cell engagers antibodies (BiTEs), bi-specific antibodies and the infusion of chimeric antigen receptor-modified T cells. We overview the results of clinical studies that have been presented up to date and also review pre-clinical studies describing potential novel treatments for MM.