Multiple myeloma treatment extends life for relapsed patients

Amgen has announced top-line results of the Phase III ARROW trial which showed Kyprolis (carfilzomib) administered once-weekly at the 70 mg/m2 dose with dexamethasone allowed relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients to live 3.6 months longer without their disease worsening than Kyprolis administered twice-weekly at the 27 mg/m2 dose with dexamethasone. The overall safety profile of the once-weekly Kyprolis regimen was comparable to that of the twice-weekly regimen.

The study included 478 patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who received two or three prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent (IMiD). Patients in the trial treated with the once-weekly Kyprolis regimen achieved a statistically significant superior progression-free survival (PFS) with a median of 11.2 months compared to 7.6 months for those treated with the twice-weekly Kyprolis regimen (HR = 0.69, 95 percent CI, 0.54 - 0.88). The most frequently reported treatment-emergent adverse events (greater than or equal to 20 percent) in either treatment arm were anemia, diarrhea, fatigue, hypertension, insomnia and pyrexia.