A subanalysis of the international phase III KarMMa-3 trial has found that Black patients with triple-class–exposed relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) saw improved outcomes with the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) as compared with standard regimens. The subanalysis was presented at the Society of Hematologic Oncology 2024 Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas.
“Black patients in KarMMa-3 had numerically improved efficacy outcomes with ide-cel versus standard regimens. Efficacy and safety were consistent with the overall population,” wrote lead author Krina Patel, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
The subanalysis involved 36 patients with RRMM who had undergone two to four prior treatments, including with an immunomodulatory agent, proteasome inhibitor, and daratumumab. Median follow-up was 18.9 months.
The researchers randomized 18 patients to receive ide-cel and 18 to receive standard regimens. At baseline, 44% of the ide-cel patients and 67% of the standard-regimen patients were triple-class refractory. In addition, 28% of the ide-cel patients and 17% of the standard-regimen patients had high tumor burden.
Median progression-free survival was found to be 20.3 months for patients receiving ide-cel and 6.9 months for patients on standard regimens. The overall response rate was 89% in the ide-cel group compared with 56% in the standard-regimen group, and the complete response rate was 56% in the ide-cel group versus 6% in the standard-regimen group.
Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 89% of patients in the ide-cel group and 76% of patients on standard regimens. In the ide-cel group, 82% of patients had cytokine release syndrome and 12% experienced grade 2 neurotoxicity.
“Despite small sample size, these data show ide-cel offers clinical benefit to Black patients with triple-class-exposed RRMM,” Dr. Patel wrote.
The subanalysis was funded by 2seventy bio and Celgene.
Reference
Patel KK, Rodríguez-Otero P, Nooka AK, et al. Idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) versus standard regimens (SRs) in triple-class–exposed (TCE) relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM): KarMMa-3 sub-analysis of Black patients. Abstract #MM-359. Presented at the Society of Hematologic Oncology 2024 Annual Meeting; September 4-7, 2024; Houston, Texas.