ASH 2014

Relapsed multiple myeloma responds to combination therapy with daratumumab

Prof Marivi Mateos - University Hospital of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

Anti-CD38, a monoclonal antibody, is a new class of drug that targeted myeloma cells by binding to an antigen expressed in the surface of the myeloma cell, CD38. So all malignant plasma cells have a CD38 and this monoclonal antibody targets it and it induces the death of the cells.

Can you tell me what you did in this study with daratumumab?

Yes, daratumumab is an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody and it has demonstrated to be effective as a single agent in relapsed and refractory myeloma patients.

And finally I need to get the take home message for doctors on this.

So we decided to move early and to combine daratumumab with a different backbone treatment in the up-front setting and also in the relapsed and refractory myeloma. This is the reason why we combined daratumumab with a bortezomib based combination and pomalidomide plus dexamethasone.

And the take home message coming out of this so far?

The take home message is that daratumumab is feasible to be combined with backbone treatments in the up-front setting and in relapsed and refractory myeloma patients because the combinations have demonstrated to be safe and effective and, in fact, 100% of the newly diagnosed myeloma patients responded to this combination and 50% of the patients who received pomalidomide, dexamethasone plus daratumumab.