Urban Health Today Editors

Urban Health Today

Receipt of triplet therapy was associated with the best survival outcomes among patients with multiple myeloma (MM) aged 75 or older, according to the results of a recent <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10428194.2021.1950708?scroll=top">study</a>. These patients had a 35% reduction in risk for death compared with patients that received other treatments.The retrospective study looked at 394 patients aged 75 or older treated for newly diagnosed MM at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. from January 2004 to January 2018. Patients had been treated as part of a clinical trial (11%) or outside of a clinical trial.About one-third of patients (31%) had been treated with an immunomodulatory agent plus dexamethasone (IMiD + dex). Other common treatments were alkylator plus steroid (19%), an alkylator plus proteasome inhibitor (PI) plus steroid (17%), and an IMiD plus PI plus dexamethasone (13%).Achieving a very good partial response or better was more likely among those patients treated with a triplet compared to other therapies (46% vs. 21%; P&lt;.0001). In addition, receipt of triplet therapy was associated with a longer median overall survival (median 50.2 vs. 32.8 months; P&lt;.0006).On multivariate analysis, the researchers identified several factors associated with improved overall survival including receipt of triplet therapy (hazard ratio [HR], 0.65; P = 0.02), not having an R-ISS stage 3 (HR, 0.36; P = 0.0003), and bone marrow plasma cell percentage less than 60% (HR, 0.69; P = 0.03).&ldquo;Patients &gt;75 years old have less bone marrow reserve and are more likely to have cytopenias than younger patients. In addition, they are more likely to have co-morbidities that can decrease the tolerability of treatment,&rdquo; the researchers wrote. &ldquo;However, overall the progression-free survival and overall survival reported in our study is in the range of the reported survival for elderly transplant ineligible patients.&rdquo;The researchers acknowledged several limitations including a lack of data on toxicity of the combination regimens, lack of frailty assessments, and lack of data on other comorbidities. Because of this, they cannot &ldquo;fully explain the reasons for better outcomes in patients who received triplet therapy&rdquo;.

Rebecca Araujo

AI-Driven Insulin Support: Are These Tools Ready for Diabetes Care?

Diabetes

Lou Portero

Heart Rate Complexity May Predict Cognitive Decline in Older Adults

Alzheimer's & Dementia

Female Cancer Survivors Face Higher Rates of Fatigue and Depression, Study Finds

Women's Neurology

Latest News

Triplet Therapy Linked to Better Survival in Older Patients With Multiple Myeloma

Multiple Myeloma

Receipt of triplet therapy was associated with the best survival outcomes among patients with multiple myeloma (MM) aged ...

About Us

Editorial Policy

Contributors & Partners

Contact Us

eNewsletters

Work With Us

Advertising

Career Center

GU Oncology Now

Blood Cancers Today

Cancer Nursing Today

DocWire News

MashupMD

Food Allergy Roundtable Discussions

Allergy

Blood Cancers

— Multiple Myeloma

Breast Cancer

Colorectal Cancer

Pancreatic Cancer

Prostate Cancer

Cancer

Gastroenterology

Heart Failure

Heart Disease Prevention

Heart Health

— Alzheimer’s Disease

Neurology

Public Health

Autoimmune Disease

Infectious Diseases

Obesity

Pediatrics

Sickle Cell Disease

Digital Health

Dermatology

Pulmonology

Video Insights

Workforce News

More

Gynecologic Cancer

Heart Disease in Women

Menopause

Reproductive Health

Women’s Neurology

Well Woman Today

Roundtables

Podcasts

Conferences

Viewpoints

Subscribe