Black patients with multiple myeloma (MM) had a longer time between diagnosis and initiation of daratumumab compared with white patients, according to real-world data presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.
According to the poster, daratumumab has been approved for both previously treated and newly diagnosed disease based on data from clinical trials, but there is limited real-world information about its use and outcomes in patients of different races.
This retrospective study reviewed charts of patients with MM initiating daratumumab from January 2018 to May 2020. De-identified data were retrieved from Levine Cancer Institute and Weill Cornell Medicine.
The study included 252 patients; 35.3% were Black. On average, Black patients were diagnosed younger (61.7 vs. 67.0 years).
Black patients had an almost 10-month longer time between initial MM diagnosis and initiation of daratumumab (43.2 vs. 34.1 months). MM stage at diagnosis, cytogenetic profile at index, and prior regimens were similar between Black and White patients.
White patients were twice as likely to have high-risk cytogenetics (20.2% vs. 9.0%) than Black patients. Black patients received more lines of treatment prior to initiation of daratumumab compared with White patients, with more than half (55.1%) of Black patients receiving three or more lines.
Duration of treatment with daratumumab was similar between the two races. Treatment response was also similar. Among patients initiating daratumumab in second-line the overall response rate was 90.9% for Black patients and 82.9% for White patients. Among patients initiating daratumumab in the third-line or later, the overall response rate was 67.6% for Black patients and 65.4% for White patients.
Among patients initiating daratumumab in third line or after the median time to next therapy was 12.3 months among Black patients and 10.4 months among White patients.
The researchers said that the findings were observed in a relatively small sample size and findings should be interpreted with caution. However, the data do suggest a potential discrepancy in access to new therapies for MM.
