Enhanced health-related quality of life with ide-cel in relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients

According to a recent study, ide-cel provides enhanced health-related quality of life in comparison to standard treatments for individuals with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma following prior courses of therapy. This study’s findings were published in the journal, Lancet Haematology. 
In this randomised, phase III, open-label, KarMMa-3 trial, a total of 386 patients were randomly assigned to receive either ide-cel (n=254) or standard treatment (pomalidomide, daratumumab, and dexamethasone; bortezomib, daratumumab, and dexamethasone; lenalidomide, ixazomib, and dexamethasone; dexamethasone and carfilzomib; or pomalidomide, elotuzumab, and dexamethasone; n=132). Patients had to complete various questionnaires including the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life C30 Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), EQ 5 dimensions (EQ-5D), Multiple Myeloma Module (QLQ-MY20), and EQ-5D visual analogue scale (VAS) at baseline and follow-up timepoints. The patient-reported outcomes (PROs) focused on nine primary domains, such as EORTC QLQ-C30 GHS–quality of life (QoL), physical functioning, cognitive functioning, fatigue, and pain; QLQ-MY20 disease symptoms and side effects of treatment; and five-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) index score and EQ-5D VAS. The differences in overall least-squares mean changes from baseline to month twenty were evaluated using post-hoc constrained longitudinal data analysis. The time to confirmed improvement or deterioration from baseline was assessed using Cox proportional hazard models.
The median follow-up period lasted 18•6 months (IQR 14•0-26•4), with PRO compliance consistently exceeding 75%. Ide-cel demonstrated favorable least-squares mean changes from baseline across various domains, with Hedges' g effect sizes ranging from 0•3 to 0•7. Patients in the ide-cel group demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful enhancements in certain primary PRO domains. The ide-cel group exhibited shorter times to clinically meaningful improvements compared to the standard regimens group in certain QLQ-C30 and QLQ-MY20 domains.
The above study demonstrated that patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have undergone previous lines of treatment may experience better health-related quality of life with Ide-cel than with traditional regimens.