An Open-Label Study of Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin, Vincristine and Reduced-Dose Dexamethasone Combination Therapy in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients in Chinese Population.

BACKGROUND: Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (CAELYX®) is a liposomal formulation of doxorubicin sterically stabilized by the grafting of segments of polyethylene glycol (PEG) onto the liposomal surface. Given the demonstrated efficacy of VAD (vincristine and doxorubicin and oral dexamethasone) in Multiple Myeloma (MM) patients and the potential for CAELYX® to extend the duration of bone marrow exposure to therapeutic levels of doxorubicin, a combination regimen of CAELYX®, vincristine, and reduced-dose dexamethasone (DVD) has been actively investigated in MM patients. Studies showed that substituting CAELYX® for doxorubicin in the VAD regimen and reducing the dose of dexamethasone in MM patients improves the safety profile and convenience of the treatment regimen without compromising efficacy. Due to potential differences in metabolism of these patients, safety and efficacy results may vary. Thus, we carried out this study in 82 newly diagnosed MM patients in China, in order to demonstrate the efficacy and safety profiles of DVD.

METHODS: Patients (n=82) from 15 sites were recruited in this study. CAELYX® (40mg/m²) was infused intravenously over 60-minutes, administered every 28 days. Vincristine (2.0mg) was administered intravenously on Day 1 of each cycle. Dexamethasone (40 mg) was administered from Day 1- Day 4 of each cycle orally or intravenously. The treatment was repeated every 28 days for 4 cycles.

RESULTS: Upon ITT analysis, the overall response rate was approximately 68% (56/82); 11% of the patients achieved complete remission (CR), 40% achieved partial response (PR), 17% achieved minimal response; 15% had stable disease (SD), and 12% o had progressive disease (PD) after the treatment. The cumulative 4-month progression-free survival (PFS) was 88%. The incidence of all the adverse events was 46%. The most common non-hematological toxicities were palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia (13.4%) and stomatitis (6.1%), respectively.

CONCLUSION: Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, vincristine and reduced dose dexamethasone combination (DVD) regimen is an effective and safe regimen in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients in Chinese population.