Hackensack University Medical Center Researcher Find Maintenance Therapy Has No Effect on Overall Survival in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Post Stem Cell Transplant
Real-world database study finds standard protocol of maintenance therapy not worth risks of additional primary malignancies and quality of life issues
December 11, 2024
A research team from Hackensack Meridian John Theurer Cancer Center—part of the National Cancer Institute-designated Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University—recently presented a study that challenged the benefit of maintenance therapy for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma post stem cell transplant.
The standard treatment for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma cases includes induction therapy, stem cell transplant and maintenance therapy. Recently, several randomized clinical trials comparing lenalidomide maintenance therapy versus no maintenance therapy showed improved progression free survival, but evidence on overall survival benefit is limited. This, combined with the increased risk of second primary malignancies and inferior quality of life that can result from maintenance therapy, called for further exploration.
The Hackensack University Medical Center team organized a multi-center, retrospective, observational study using the de-identified COTA real-world database, derived from U.S. center electronic health records.
The study demonstrates improved outcomes for the earliest initiation of next line of therapy or death with no maintenance therapy. Maintenance therapy did not have an impact on overall survival in the study cohort. The researchers determined these results indicate a lack of long-term benefit with the maintenance therapy.
The findings were presented at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting: Abstract 7562: Effect of Maintenance Therapy (MT) on Real-World Outcomes (RWO) of Patients (pts) with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (NDMM) Post Stem Cell Transplant (SCT).
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