FEBRUARY 10, 2024
by Elana Gotkine
For patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), triplet therapy of belantamab mafodotin (belamaf) plus bortezomib and dexamethasone (BVd) improves outcomes, with an acceptable safety profile, according to a study presented during the February 2024 session of the American Society for Clinical Oncology Plenary Series.
Maria-Victoria Mateos, Ph.D., from the Hospital Universitario de Salamanca in Spain, and colleagues conducted a randomized, phase III head-to-head trial to examine the efficacy and safety of BVd versus triplet standard-of-care therapy (daratumumab, bortezomib, and dexamethasone [DVd]) for patients with RRMM. A total of 494 patients with one or more prior lines of therapy were randomly allocated to BVd or DVd (243 and 251, respectively); the primary end point was independent review committee-assessed progression-free survival (PFS).
The researchers found that the median PFS was 36.6 and 13.4 months in the BVd and DVd arms, respectively, after a median follow-up of 28.2 months (hazard ratio, 0.41). Overall survival data were 29 percent mature; median overall survival was not reached in either arm (hazard ratio, 0.57).
The overall response rate was 82.7 and 71.3 percent for BVd and DVd, respectively. All patients experienced one or more adverse event; 90 and 67 percent of patients, respectively, in the BVd and DVd arms reported grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events, and 50 and 37 percent, respectively, reported serious adverse events.
"The DREAMM-7 findings demonstrate that BVd improved outcomes for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma while also having a manageable safety profile," Mateos said in a statement. "These results support BVd triplet therapy as a potential new standard of care option for these patients."
One author disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures belamaf and funded the study.