Lenalidomide treatment was not linked with an increased risk of subsequent primary malignancies (SPMs) in people with multiple myeloma in a study involving nearly 1,700 individuals.

All participants had multiple myeloma. Investigators performed a cohort analysis and a nested case-control study to evaluate SPM risk outside the context of melphalan-based induction therapy and post-melphalan maintenance therapy. Those with SPMs were matched to controls based on age at and date of diagnosis, gender, and follow-up time. Among the results:

• At 5 years, 3.2% of patients treated with lenalidomide developed SPMs, vs 6.2% of those who were not treated with the drug.

• The difference was not statistically significant after adjusting for age and year of diagnosis.

• Lenalidomide use was inversely associated with SPM in the nested case-control analysis.

Citation: Rollison D, Komorkji R, Lee J, et al. Subsequent primary malignancies among multiple myeloma patients treated with or without lenalidomide. [Published online ahead of print July 18, 2016]. Leuk Lymphoma. doi:10.1080/10428194.2016.1207763.