Dr. Costa on Triplet of Venetoclax, Carfilzomib, and Dexamethasone in Multiple Myeloma

Luciano J. Costa, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cell Therapy Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, discusses phase II findings with the triplet regimen of venetoclax (Venclexta), carfilzomib (Kyprolis), and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Costa shared this insight in an interview with OncLive during the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.

This was a multicenter United States phase II study of patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma who have received 1 to 3 prior lines of therapy. Patients received this regimen on a dose-escalation study of 4 cohorts, with differing dosages of venetoclax and carfilzomib.

Results showed that the combination was well tolerated; the safety profile was similar to what has been observed in prior studies of carfilzomib, Costa explains. Most adverse events (AEs) included cytopenia that was asymptomatic, cardiovascular events, and some cases of hypertension. For the most part, the cardiovascular AEs were reversible once carfilzomib was held and the agent was often resumed at a lower dose. Regarding efficacy, an overall response rate of 83% was observed across patient subgroups. This is also intriguing because the majority of patients were refractory to their last linen of therapy, Costa concludes.

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