Network meta-analysis of randomized trials in multiple myeloma: Efficacy and safety in frontline therapy for patients not eligible for transplant.

The treatment scenario for newly-diagnosed transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma patients (NEMM) is quickly evolving. Currently, combinations of proteasome inhibitors and/or immunomodulatory drugs +/- the monoclonal antibody Daratumumab are used for first-line treatment, even if head-to-head comparisons are lacking. To compare efficacy and safety of these regimens, we performed a network meta-analysis of 27 phase 2/3 randomized trials including a total of 12,935 patients and 23 different schedules. Four efficacy/outcome and one safety indicators were extracted and integrated to obtain (for each treatment) the surface under the cumulative ranking-curve (SUCRA), a metric used to build a ranking chart. With a mean SUCRA of 83.8 and 80.08 respectively, VMP + Daratumumab (DrVMP) and Rd + Daratumumab (DrRd) reached the top of the chart. However, SUCRA is designed to work for single outcomes. To overcome this limitation, we undertook a dimensionality reduction approach through a principal component analysis, that unbiasedly grouped the 23 regimens into three different subgroups. On the bases of our results, we demonstrated that first line treatment for NEMM should be based on DrRd (most active, but continuous treatment), DrVMP (quite "fixed-time" treatment), or, alternatively, VRD and that, surprisingly, melphalan as well as Rd doublets still deserve a role in this setting.

30 Years of Improved Survival in Non-Transplant-Eligible Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma.

The treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) has greatly evolved these past few years. Recent advances in therapeutics have largely benefited elderly patients now renamed "non-transplant-eligible" (NTE) patients. Since the 1960s, and for several decades, chemotherapy was the only treatment for MM. Then, the field was marked by the emergence of targeted therapies in the 2000s, such as immunomodulating agents (thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide) and proteasome inhibitors (bortezomib, carfilzomib, and ixazomib), which were the first steps towards an increase in survival. Thereafter, the apparition of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was considered a milestone in the treatment of MM for both transplant-eligible and NTE patients. Anti-CD38 mAbs can be safely administered to older patients with an impressive efficacy leading to a never-achieved-before survival rate with the triple association of anti-CD38 mAbs, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone. However, progress is still expected with the introduction in the armamentarium for NTE patients of the most recent innovative immunotherapy-based treatments newly introduced in MM, e.g., CAR-T cells and bispecific antibodies. These "improved versions" of immune-based treatments will probably also benefit NTE patients, although further studies will be needed to better understand their role in this population.

The Role of Immunotherapy in Non-transplant Eligible Multiple Myeloma.

As the global population is aging and survival in multiple myeloma (MM) is increasing, treating older MM patients, redefined as non-transplant eligible (NTE), is becoming more frequent. Yet, treating these patients remains a real challenge especially because of a marked heterogeneity in the population and an increased susceptibility to treatment toxicity. Indeed, the balance between efficacy and safety must be considered at all time throughout the treatment history for these patients. Therefore, younger and older patients were historically treated in a very different way, even though the safety profile of most anti-myeloma drugs has drastically improved over the years. The emergence of immunotherapy (IT) has largely widened the therapeutic options available in MM and above all has allowed a therapy at optimal dose, and therefore optimal activity, for all patients independently of their frailty features, with no increase in safety issues. Among the novel anti-myeloma IT-based agents, anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are now becoming the new backbone of treatment for NTE patients, in association with lenalidomide and dexamethasone. Moreover, several new IT-based drugs are currently being developed and investigated either alone or in association; such as new anti-CD38 mAbs, anti-CD38 mAbs with many different combinations, but also the CAR-T cells, bispecific T-cell engager (BiTEs), or antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeting BCMA. One would expect that immunotherapy will ultimately change and even transform the MM landscape, even for elderly patients. Immunotherapy represents a shift in treatment paradigm in MM as it provides truly efficient drugs with a very favorable safety profile.