PERSEUS Data Support Daratumumab as New Standard of Care for Myeloma

At the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, Paula Rodríguez-Otero, MD, PhD, of the University of Navarra, shared an update from the phase III PERSEUS study on transplant-eligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM).

The study compared VRd induction and consolidation with lenalidomide maintenance versus daratumumab plus VRd induction, transplant, and consolidation with daratumumab plus lenalidomide maintenance.

Dr. Rodríguez-Otero discussed the measurable residual disease (MRD) key secondary endpoint data analysis.

“What we are showing is that for [the daratumumab] arm there [are] higher rates of MRD negativity both at 10 to the negative five and 10 to the negative six,” she said. “It’s interesting to see in the trial how responses deepened throughout therapy and how the improvement in responses occurred mostly during the maintenance phase.”

Dr. Rodríguez-Otero noted the MRD data showed the same trend of improved responses with the daratumumab-based regimen, as well as responses that deepened throughout treatment. Sustained MRD negativity at 12 and 18 months was also higher in the daratumumab arm compared with the VRd arm, according to Dr. Rodríguez-Otero.

“MRD rates and sustained MRD negativity in the subgroup analysis favors [daratumumab] treatment across all prespecified subgroups, including older age, International Scoring System-3, and high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities,” Dr. Rodríguez-Otero added.

In patients with high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities, those treated with daratumumab had higher rates of sustained MRD negativity at the 10 to the negative six threshold, which translated into longer progression-free survival.

“Overall, the data support daratumumab plus VRd induction and consolidation followed by transplant and daratumumab plus lenalidomide maintenance as the new standard of care for the treatment of newly diagnosed MM,” Dr. Rodríguez-Otero summarized.