Fredrik Schjesvold, MD, PhD, Discusses the Importance of Subgroups When Utilizing Melflufen/Dexamethasone in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

At the 2021 International Myeloma Workshop, CancerNetwork® spoke with Fredrik Schjesvold, MD, PhD, founder and head of the Oslo Myeloma Center, about the importance of subgroups when treating patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma with melflufen (Pepaxto) and dexamethasone, as seen in the phase 3 OCEAN trial (NCT03151811).

Transcript:

What I hope [my colleagues] really understood is that you cannot only look at the intention to treat overall survival; you have to look at the patient groups with and without the transplant because they [are very different]. That is the most important takeaway. An increased [progression-free survival] in the total population doesn’t help if there’s an [overall survival] detriment, but there isn’t if you look at the non-transplanted patients. That is a major communication issue now is to look beyond the partial clinical hold because of the slight increase in mortality in the total population and look at the patients who really benefit from this treatment.

Reference

Schjesvold F, Dimopoulos MA, Delimpasi S, et al. OCEAN (OP-103): a Phase 3, randomized, global, head-to-head comparison study of melflufen and dexamethasone (Dex) versus pomalidomide (Pom) and dex in relapsed refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Presented at: International Myeloma Workshop; September 8-11, 2021; Vienna, Austria. Accessed September 11, 2021.