Dr. Jackson on the Toxicity Profile of Lenalidomide Maintenance in Myeloma

Graham Jackson, MD, PhD, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, discusses the toxicity profile of lenalidomide (Revlimid) maintenance therapy in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma.

Some of the main adverse events that arise after treatment with lenalidomide maintenance are hematological in nature. The most common grade 3/4 toxicity was neutropenia, says Jackson. As a whole, he explains, most patients seemed to tolerate the treatment very well. He also notes that, with lenalidomide maintenance, it is possible to adjust the dose so the patient stays on the therapy without having to come off the drug due to toxicity.

One piece of data has shown that patients benefit more if they stay on lenalidomide maintenance longer. Jackson and his colleagues saw that patients who came off the study early because of toxicity generally relapsed more quickly than patients who stayed on the drug. Though the reasons for that quicker relapse are unknown at this time, Jackson says that the data speak to the possibility that prolonged maintenance is important.