Thomas G. Martin, MD, Discusses Abstracts He’s Eagerly Anticipating for Presentation at 2021 ASH

Ahead of the 2021 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH), Thomas G. Martin, MD, associate director of the Myeloma Program at the University of California San Francisco, discussed abstracts he’s most excited to see presented.

Transcript:

ASH is going to be quite exciting [this year]. A lot of it is updates of previously presented data, but there also is some new data in the CD38 world. We’re going to get an update from the GRIFFIN study (NCT02874742), which is a randomized phase 2 study of daratumumab [Darzalex; DARA] lenalidomide [Revlimid], bortezomib [Velcade], and dexamethasone [RVd] versus RVd in the frontline setting.¹ This is going to be an update after 24 months of maintenance-based therapy with DARA plus lenalidomide. DARA was given for 24 months as part of maintenance and then after that, patients could stop therapy altogether or they could [continue with] lenalidomide [treatment]. What they show is a much deeper response. Minimal residual disease [MRD] negativity rates at that time was achieved in over 64% of patients on the the DARA-RVd arm versus 30% in just the RVd arm. It still isn’t even close to [reporting] a median progression-free survival [PFS], with the 36-month PFS rate in the DARA-RVd arm at 89%, which is amazing.

There will also be an update in the CASSIOPEIA trial (NCT02541383) that examines DARA plus bortezomib, thalidomide [Contergan], and dexamethasone, or DARA-VTd. Essentially, what that’s going to show is that the MRD negativity rate was the highest in the patients who received DARA as part of induction then go to autologous transplant and [receive] DARA as part of consolidation, then [received] DARA maintenance because at the backside patients were randomized to no maintenance or DARA so they could have [received] DARA just as frontline, DARA just as maintenance, or DARA in both settings. In fact, both settings had the highest MRD negativity rate.

There’s also a new trial going to be presented by Hartmut Goldschmidt, MD, from Germany.² It’s the GMMG-HD7 study (NCT03617731), which is isatuximab [Isa; Sarclisa], lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone versus lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone, or Isa-RVd versus RVd. They’re going to report data after just 6 cycles of induction therapy and a standard 3-week induction for RVd. The primary end point of the study was MRD [minimal residual disease] negativity after this induction-based therapy. There is a significant advantage in terms of Isa-RVd as part of induction therapy versus RVd. MRD negativity that they report in the abstract by next-generation flow cytometry was 50% versus 35%, [respectively]. In that study, the patients are going to go on to get an autologous transplant and then consolidation maintenance. Those data are forthcoming, but it’s a very interesting initial result for that study.

Reference

1. Laubach J, Kaufman J, Sborov D, et al. Daratumumab (DARA) plus lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (RVd) in patients (Pts) with transplant-eligible newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM): Updated analysis of Griffin after 24 months of maintenance. Presented at: 63rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting; December 11-13, 2021; Atlanta, GA. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://bit.ly/3xNXYIJ

2. Goldschmidt H, Mai E, Nievergall E, et al. Addition of isatuximab to lenalidomide, bortezomib and dexamethasone as induction therapy for newly-diagnosed, transplant-eligible multiple myeloma patients: The phase III GMMG-HD7 trial. Presented at: 63rd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting; December 11-13, 2021; Atlanta, GA. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://bit.ly/3dcsxOL