Al-Ola Abdallah: Teclistamab Dosing in Multiple Myeloma
Continuous versus Fixed-Duration Therapy
Al-Ola Abdallah, Associate Professor and Plasma Cell Disorder Program Director at the University of Kansas Medical Center, shared insights on Teclistamab dosing strategies in multiple myeloma based on a study published in Cancers.
Core Findings
- The fixed-duration strategy appears feasible for selected patients.
- 12-month progression-free survival (PFS) was similar: 65% for continuous therapy versus 66% for fixed-duration.
- Severe infection risk was significantly higher in the fixed-duration group (69% vs. 22%).
Patient Differences
- Patients on fixed-duration therapy were older (median age 73 vs. 69 years).
- Higher proportion of prior BCMA-therapy refractory patients in the fixed-duration group (56% vs. 29%).
- Similar rates of high-risk cytogenetics in both groups (~43%).
- Patients were heavily pretreated with a median of 5 prior lines of therapy.
Response and Survival
- Fixed-duration patients stopped treatment after achieving at least very good partial response (VGPR).
- Median PFS was 16 months for continuous therapy versus 13 months for fixed-duration therapy.
- Overall survival showed a trend favoring continuous therapy (hazard ratio 2.79; p=0.048).
- About 38% of fixed-duration patients remained treatment-free for over 12 months.
“The future of BiTEs, especially in combination therapy trials, should be focused on fixed duration.”
Summary: Fixed-duration teclistamab therapy shows comparable short-term effectiveness with a higher infection risk and may suit select older or heavily pretreated patients.
Would you like the summary to be more formal or concise?