Quality of life during treatment with PVd for multiple myeloma

This trial looked at the quality of life (QOL) of patients receiving PVd (pomalidomide, bortezomib, dexamethasone) for multiple myeloma which has returned after previous treatment. This study showed that adding pomalidomide (Pomalyst) to the Vd regimen (bortezomib, dexamethasone) did not decrease patients' QOL.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer of the plasma cells, which are a type of white blood cell. MM cannot be cured but can be treated for years. MM may become resistant to a particular treatment over time. Therefore, patients with MM may progress through a series of treatments. Lenalidomide (Revlimid) is the standard initial treatment for MM. Most MM which as relapsed (returned) is already resistant to lenalidomide.

Vd is a treatment for MM which has relapsed. Pomalidomide is a chemotherapy medication that has a similar structure to lenalidomide. The study authors previously found that adding pomalidomide to Vd significantly improved how many patients responded to treatment (82.2% vs. 50%). However, it is unclear whether adding pomalidomide affects the QOL of patients.

This study included 449 patients with refractory MM. The patients had received between 1 and 3 previous treatments for MM. At least one of the previous treatments included lenalidomide. There were 240 patients treated with PVd. There were also 209 patients treated with Vd. Patients' QOL was measured through questionnaires.

Compared to the initial visit, the changes in the QOL scores over time were similar in both groups of patients. The symptom-related QOL scores showed similar improvement over time in both groups.

A similar number of patients experienced a worsening of QOL when taking PVd (between 23.9% and 33.0%) compared to Vd (between 28.8% and 50.0%).

This study found that the quality of life of patients taking PVd was similar to those taking Vd for relapsed/refractory MM.

This study was funded by Celgene, the manufacturer of pomalidomide.