- Bumma, Naresh;
- Dhakal, Binod;
- Fraser, Raphael;
- Estrada-Merly, Noel;
- Anderson, Kenneth;
- Freytes, César;
- Hildebrandt, Gerhard;
- Holmberg, Leona;
- Krem, Maxwell;
- Lee, Cindy;
- Lekakis, Lazaros;
- Lazarus, Hillard;
- Mian, Hira;
- Murthy, Hemant;
- Nathan, Sunita;
- Nishihori, Taiga;
- Parrondo, Ricardo;
- Patel, Sagar;
- Solh, Melhem;
- Strouse, Christopher;
- Vesole, David;
- Kumar, Shaji;
- Qazilbash, Muzaffar;
- Shah, Nina;
- DSouza, Anita;
- Sidana, Surbhi
BACKGROUND: Lenalidomide maintenance after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) in multiple myeloma (MM) results in superior progression-free survival and overall survival. However, patients with high-risk multiple myeloma (HRMM) do not derive the same survival benefit from lenalidomide maintenance compared with standard-risk patients. The authors sought to determine the outcomes of bortezomib-based maintenance compared with lenalidomide maintenance in patients with HRMM undergoing ASCT. METHODS: In total, the authors identified 503 patients with HRMM who were undergoing ASCT within 12 months of diagnosis from January 2013 to December 2018 after receiving triplet novel-agent induction in the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database. HRMM was defined as deletion 17p, t(14;16), t(4;14), t(14;20), or chromosome 1q gain. RESULTS: Three hundred fifty-seven patients (67%) received lenalidomide alone, and 146 (33%) received bortezomib-based maintenance (with bortezomib alone in 58%). Patients in the bortezomib-based maintenance group were more likely to harbor two or more high-risk abnormalities and International Staging System stage III disease (30% vs. 22%; p = .01) compared with the lenalidomide group (24% vs. 15%; p < .01). Patients who were receiving lenalidomide maintenance had superior progression-free survival at 2 years compared with those who were receiving either bortezomib monotherapy or combination therapy (75% vs. 63%; p = .009). Overall survival at 2 years was also superior in the lenalidomide group (93% vs. 84%; p = .001). CONCLUSIONS: No superior outcomes were observed in patients with HRMM who received bortezomib monotherapy or (to a lesser extent) in those who received bortezomib in combination as maintenance compared with lenalidomide alone. Until prospective data from randomized clinical trials are available, post-transplant therapy should be tailored to each patient with consideration for treating patients in clinical trials that target novel therapeutic strategies for HRMM, and lenalidomide should remain a cornerstone of treatment.