Clinical outcomes and healthcare resource use in triple-class exposed patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

AIM: Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), proteasome inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) alone or in combination form the backbone of multiple myeloma (MM) treatment, yet MM remains incurable requiring further lines of therapy (LOT). This study investigated real-world treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, and healthcare utilization among triple-class exposed (TCE) patients initiating subsequent LOTs.

METHODS

TCE patients receiving additional LOTs (January 2012-December 2022) in the Alberta Health System databases were included.

RESULTS

Median age among 221 TCE patients requiring subsequent LOT was 70 years. MAbs (42%) and IMiDs (51%) were the most common drug classes incorporated as first and second LOT, respectively. After first LOT, attrition rate was 32%. From first LOT, median time to next treatment or death (TTNT-D) was 10.1 (95% confidence interval: 8.4-13.3) months, median TTNT was 18.1 (15.6-22.4) months and overall survival was 18.7 (16.0-24.3) months. Within first year of subsequent LOT, patients had a median of 1 emergency department visit, 1 hospitalization, 33 clinic visits, 4 infusion appointments, 37 unique healthcare encounters, and a mean of 32 days spent on laboratory tests.

CONCLUSION

Treatment for TCE patients has limited effectiveness and a high healthcare system burden, emphasizing the unmet need for therapies with novel mechanisms of action.