Dr Dimopoulos on Patient Reported Outcomes With BPd in Pretreated R/R Multiple Myeloma

Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, professor and chairman of the Department of Clinical Therapeutics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Medicine, Greece, discusses patient-reported outcomes (PROs) with belantamab mafodotin-blmf (Blenrep) plus pomalidomide (Pomalyst) and dexamethasone (BPd) vs bortezomib (Velcade) plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone (VPd) in pretreated patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

PRO data from the phase 3 DREAMM-8 trial(NCT04484623) were presented during the 2024 International Myeloma Society Annual Meeting. From week 5 to 137, no significant differences in global health status or quality of life (QOL) scores were observed between the BPd (n = 133) and VPd (n = 124) arms, as measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30, Dimopoulos begins. Scores for role functioning, physical functioning, fatigue, and disease symptoms/pain were also comparable across both treatment arms. Measurable improvements in pain and the functional ability were evident, he notes.

However, a higher proportion of patients in the BPd arm achieved meaningful improvements (≥10 points) in EORTC scores compared with the VPd arm, especially in physical functioning (53.6% vs 31.3%) and fatigue (65.2% vs 46.3%), were particularly evident in of the states. Other notable improvements were seen in GHS/QOL (49.0% vs 39.5%), role functioning (51.6% vs 39.5%), and disease symptoms (56.8% vs 43.5%).

Regarding ocular toxicity, belantamab mafodotin is known to cause microcystic keratitis, leading to blurred vision, Dimopoulos continues . At the start of the trial, more patients in the BPd arm (73%) reported worsening vision-related function compared with the VPd arm (51%), based on OSDI scores. However, 92% of BPd-treated patients (n = 110) later reported improvements in vision after a median of 57 days, he reports. This improvement is likely due to dose adjustments and the use of extended treatment intervals, which help mitigate the ocular toxicity of belantamab mafodotin, Dimopoulos explains.

These QOL benefits, combined with the significant progression-free survival advantage seen with BPd over VPd in DREAMM-8, suggest that BPd could become a new standard of care for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, he concludes.