Phase 1 data on venetoclax monotherapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, initially presented at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, have been published in Blood.
Of 66 patients enrolled in the study (NCT01794520), 61% were bortezomib and lenalidomide double refractory, and 46% had t(11;14), said Shaji Kumar, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, and his colleagues.
The overall response rate was 21% (14/66), and 15% achieved very good or better partial responses; 12 of the 14 responses occurred in patients with t(11;14).
(Click here to read the initial report and to view a video of Dr. Kumar discussing the study results at ASH 2016.)
Venetoclax is a selective, orally bioavailable BCL-2 inhibitor that is particularly effective against MM cells harboring t(11;14). Biomarker analysis confirmed that response to venetoclax correlated with higher BCL2:BCL2L1 and BCL2:MCL1 mRNA expression ratios.
The study is sponsored by Abbvie, and Dr. Kumar receives research support from Abbvie.