Spots Global Cancer Trial Database for Study of Bendamustine, Velcade and Dexamethasone in the Treatment of Elderly Patients With Multiple Myeloma

Study Description

Brief Summary: The present trial is designed as a phase II study that aims at estimating the efficacy of the combination of bendamustine, bortezomib and dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM). The response rate, i.e. the rate of the patients achieving a Complete Response or Partial Response at cycle 4, divided by the total intent to treat patient number is chosen as primary efficacy endpoint. The estimation of the efficacy rate is to be based on an explorative pilot study, since immediate embarking on a large-scale comparative efficacy trial would not be acceptable from the point of view of resources. Moreover, this would induce ethical objections, as it does not seem to be justifiable to expose a large number of patients to an experimental approach without sufficient exploratory indications of an improved risk-benefit ratio.

Detailed Description: After relapse or after early progression on first-line treatment, the prognosis of multiple myeloma (MM) patients is unfavourable, and the search for new treatment regimens, including drugs with novel mechanisms of action is essential. Bendamustine and bortezomib have shown high activity boch in first-line regimens and pre-treated patients. The novel mechanism of action of the proteasome inhibitor and the non-cross resistance of bendamustine to other alkylating agents established in the first-line treatment of multiple myeloma seem to recommend a combination of the two drugs for salvage therapy (second-line regimen). Finally, the promising response data in a series of relapsing MM patients treated with bendamustine, bortezomib and prednisone support this assumption, as well as the feasibility and tolerability of the combination. In summary, there is some evidence for a favorable risk/benefit ratio for the combination of bendamustine, bortezomib and a corticoid drug, warranting the exploration in a larger, prospectively designed multicenter phase II study.

Keywords

Eligibility

Minimum Age: 65 Years

Eligible Ages: OLDER_ADULT

Sex: ALL

Healthy Volunteers: No

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