Practice patterns and outcomes for triple-class exposed patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in Japan.

Treatment options are limited for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in Japan who have received the 3 classes of drugs known as immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors and anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies, and are considered to be 'triple-class exposed' (TCE). The objective of this study was to understand the characteristics of this patient population and the treatments they received after becoming TCE. The study evaluated healthcare resources and costs and considered whether patients had received stem cell transplant as their first treatment, where cells that may differentiate into blood cells are administered. This study analyzed a database of anonymous patients' medical records collected from April 2008 through April 2021 in Japan. A total of 216 patients were included, of whom 194 never received stem cell transplantation. Patients who received treatment after being considered TCE received that first treatment for a median of 2 months. All patients who received treatment after TCE had a median overall survival of 15.8 months meaning half the patients were still alive after receiving treatment at 15.8 months. Patients who did not have a stem cell transplant after diagnosis had a median overall survival of 17.4 months. Healthcare resources were similar between groups, except those who did not have stem cell transplantation after diagnosis needed more medications. Both groups had total healthcare costs of ¥1.3 million per patient per month. These findings support the need for new treatments and future studies to understand how new treatments would help TCE relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients in Japan.