Dr. Sundar Jagannath on Three-Drug Regimen for Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma

Sundar Jagannath, MD, director of the Multiple Myeloma program and professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at the Tisch Cancer Institute, Mount Sinai Cancer Center, discusses optimal induction therapy for multiple myeloma.

There was a pivotal trial reported at the 2015 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting which demonstrated that a three-drug regimen was better than a two-drug regimen for multiple myeloma induction therapy.

Currently it is recommended that the three-drug regimen should include a proteasome inhibitor, either bortezomib or carfilzomib, an immunomodulatory molecule like lenalidomide, and a glucocorticoid like dexamethasone, says Jagannath.

This has become the standard of care for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. Having a standardized approach makes it easier for physicians to determine treatment instead of going though a complicated algorithm of factors like risk, FISH, and cytogenetics, he says.