Dr. Sallman on the Efficacy of Pevonedistat Plus Azacitidine in Higher-Risk MDS

David Sallman, MD, assistant member, Department of Malignant Hematology, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the efficacy of pevonedistat plus azacitidine in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (HR-MDS).

Findings from the randomized, proof-of-concept phase 2 study (NCT02610777) demonstrated a clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival and event-free survival with the combination of pevonedistat plus azacitidine vs azacitidine alone in patients with HR-MDS/chronic myelomonocytic leukemia or low-blast acute myeloid leukemia, Sallman says.

The overall response rate (ORR) was 70.9% with pevonedistat/azacitidine vs 60.4% with azacitidine alone in the overall patient population. The ORR was 79.3% vs 56.7%, respectively, for patients with HR-MDS. The median duration of response was 34.6 months compared with 13.1 months, respectively, in patients with HR-MDS, Sallman concludes.