Drug ‘could herald precision medicine’ in multiple myeloma
Results from an international trial of venetoclax may prove to be a watershed, a leading haematological oncologist says
A trial of the oral BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax in a triple therapy regimen for multiple myeloma suggests certain patients might benefit from the new agent, despite an excess of fatal infections.
In the phase 3 international BELLINI trial, which included Australian patients, 291 people with relapsed or refractory disease (median age 66, 52% male) were randomised 2:1 to 800mg venetoclax or placebo daily.
Patients also received 1.3mg/m2 bortezomib on four days of each treatment cycle and 20mg dexamethasone on eight days of each cycle, the researchers report in the Lancet Oncology.
Over a median follow-up of 18.7 months median progression-free survival was 22.4 months in the venetoclax arm and 11.5 months in the placebo arm.
