Dr. Kumar on the Rationale Behind the ENDURANCE Trial in Newly Diagnosed Myeloma

Shaji Kumar, MD, a hematologist with Mayo Clinic, discusses the rationale behind the phase 3 ENDURANCE trial, which is comparing carfilzomib (Kyprolis), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and dexamethasone (KRd) with bortezomib (Velcade), lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.

It is known that a SWOG phase 3 trial demonstrated that VRd improves survival outcomes for this patient population and, as such, it has become the standard of care, says Kumar. Additionally, phase 2 trial results have demonstrated that KRd can be highly effective in the newly diagnosed setting, adds Kumar.

As such, investigators in ENDURANCE, investigators wanted to see how KRd would fare in a head-to-head setting and whether KRd would improve progression-free survival compared with VRD in patients with newly diagnosed disease, Kumar concludes.