TREATMENT OF RELAPSED AND RELAPSED/REFRACTORY MULTIPLE MYELOMA

Abstract

Despite recent advances in therapy, relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM) remains a significant challenge and an area of unmet medical need. Median survival and responses to treatment are characteristically short. Relapsed and refractory MM is defined as patients who achieve at least a minor response (MR) or better followed by relapse and then progress on salvage therapy, or experience progression within 60 days of their last therapy. Successive treatment regimens typically result in progressively shorter response durations, which reflects emerging drug resistance. The observed decrease in response duration may also reflect changes in disease biology within each patient, with tumor cells expressing a more aggressive phenotype, higher proliferative thrust, and lower apoptotic rates.