Studying Quality of Life With and Without Elotuzumab in Newly Diagnosed Myeloma

Quality of life has become increasingly important when evaluating the management and treatment plan for patients with myeloma. This reflects a shift towards evaluating both survival outcomes and patient well-being.

When considering newer therapies, such as a treatment like elotuzumab, it’s vital to understand how it affects patient quality of life. 

Information About Elotuzumab

Elotuzumab (Empliciti) is a monoclonal antibody used to treat multiple myeloma, by targeting a protein called SLAMF7 on the surface of myeloma cells, which then activates natural killer cells to destroy the cancer cells. It is typically used in combination with other medications like lenalidomide and dexamethasone for patients who have received one to three prior lines of therapy. It is administered by IV.

At the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting this year, researchers from Germany presented how people with myeloma’s quality of life were affected after receiving elotuzumab. 

Quality-of-life assessments were conducted on: 

• Patients who received elotuzumab in addition to lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (RVd) induction and/or consolidation and lenalidomide maintenance.

• Patients who did not receive elotuzumab (but still received the RVd combination).

Testing/questionnaire was conducted on 476 patients in the following order: health status, pain, fatigue and emotional functioning. Data was collected through all treatment phases.

Questionnaire Results

• All evaluated patients showed a significant reduction in pain in both groups.

• Quality of life improved as well as fatigue in both groups throughout treatment.

• Emotional functioning “scores improved significantly across all treatment phases, indicating positive psychological impacts regardless of the treatment group.”

• There was no significant difference between the group that received elotuzumab and the group that did not.

• The addition of elotuzumab to the treatment plan did not affect overall survival or progression-free survival in either group.

• The addition of elotuzumab did not reduce the quality of life for patients.

Conclusion

When considering these questionnaire results, the primary investigators shared:

“These results suggest that the addition of elotuzumab to RVd-based therapy, followed by lenalidomide maintenance, did not negatively impact the quality of life for transplant-eligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). Despite variations in treatment regimens, patients reported consistent reductions in pain and improvements in overall quality of life.”

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