Lenalidomide Offers Patients With Smoldering Myeloma Option to Prevent Progression

Lenalidomide (Revlimid) significantly reduced the risk for smoldering multiple myeloma to progress to cancer among patients with moderate to high risk, according to findings from the phase II/III E3A06 trial to be presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting.
“It is pretty clear that we need to differentiate treatment of myeloma versus prevention of smoldering to developing myeloma,” Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP, chief medical officer, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, said during a presscast held ahead of the meeting.

“That treatment or prevention strategy is likely to be less intensive and may actually try to focus on enhancing immune surveillance of the existing malignant clone and preventing that clone from progressing, as opposed to eradication of the disease when you treatment symptomatic myeloma,” he added.

Because many issues associated with multiple myeloma can result in irreversible morbidity and, at times, mortality – healthcare providers struggle to identify patients at high risk for progression and also how to intervene by risk stratification.