Dr Rifkin on the Role of Belantamab Mafodotin in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

“The thing to take away is [belantamab mafodotin-blmf (Blenrep)] will give your patients an opportunity to have exposure to a BCMA-targeted drug, either alone or in combination. It’ll be very useful for people who don’t have ready access to bispecific [antibodies] or CAR T-cell therapy.”

Robert M. Rifkin, MD, FACP, medical oncologist, hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, offers advice to colleagues about belantamab mafodotin for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma following efficacy outcomes from the phase 3 DREAMM-7 trial (NCT04246047).

Based on data from the DREAMM-7 trial, Rifkin explains that belantamab mafodotin will increase the chances that patients are exposed to a BCMA-directed drug, whether it is administered alone or in combination with another therapy.

The global, randomized, open-label phase 3 trial examined the combination of belantamab mafodotin, bortezomib (Velcade), and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Data demonstrated that the trial met its key secondary end point of overall survival (OS), as the combination showed a significantly significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the risk of death compared with daratumumab (Darzalex) plus bortezomib and dexamethasone.

Prior data from the trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed that the median OS was 33.9 months (95% CI, 21.9-not reached) in the belantamab mafodotin arm (n = 243) vs 15.2 months (95% CI, 12.3-21.1) in the control arm (n = 251; HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.40-0.80). At 18 months, the OS rates were 84% and 73% in the respective arms.

Of note, Rifkin says treatment with belantamab mafodotin will be helpful for patients to receive, particularly if bispecific antibodies or CAR T-cell therapy is not readily accessible to them. He emphasizes that having prior exposure to BCMA is important, as future clinical trials may require patients to have this previous exposure. Responses with belantamab mafodotin have been deep and long acting. Therefore, treatment with only 3 or 4 doses annually to maintain remission may be possible, he concludes.