A new agent that subverts myeloma cells from within while also subjecting them to an immune system attack produced impressive responses in combination with dexamethasone in patients with multiple myeloma that had relapsed and stopped responding to all currently available therapies, a clinical trial conducted by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and around the world has found. Results of the trial are being published online today by the New England Journal of Medicine, together with an accompanying editorial.
The responses are especially promising because the new agent, mezigdomide, is a pill that can be taken at home once daily, unlike many other immunotherapies that must be custom-made for each patient, are administered intravenously, and require sometimes lengthy hospital stays, the study authors noted. The researchers were also encouraged that mezigdomide generated responses in half of patients who had received prior anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) targeted -therapy – including the two CAR T cell therapies achieving U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval over the last 3 years, as well as bispecific monoclonal antibodies and the antibody drug conjugate Belantamab Mafodontin.
