ASCO 2019 | Octogenarians with multiple myeloma: different biology and different treatment?

During ASCO 2019, the Multiple Myeloma Hub interviewed our Steering Committee member, Sonja Zweegman, Amsterdam UMC - VU University, Amsterdam, NL, about the clinical outcomes of octogenarians in the novel agent era, in mutliple myeloma.

Professor Zweegman discusses a prospective trial conducted to answer the difficult questions in this population. This study found that patients over 80 years old have comparable PFS to younger patients, but a lower OS because toxicity precludes further treatment. Professor Zweegman also addresses one of the main issues in MM currently, which is the classification of frailty, using age as a stratification factor. She stated we need to look for novel biomarkers to identify frail patients. In the meantime, Professor Zweegman suggested a two-drug regimen is better than three-drug regimen due to the decreased side effects and higher adherence to therapy. Ixazomib is being investigated in this population, as is daratumumab, to overcome the frailty of these patients. She concluded that the octogenarian population is heterogenous and if a patient is frail, the physician should adapt the therapy to reduce the side effects, such as by lowering the dosage.

Sonja Zweegman kindly gave her interview in Dutch, with the title: Octogenarians met multipel myeloom: verschillend biologie en verschillend behandeling?