Grade 3 or 4 adverse events occurred in 96 percent of patients; grade 3 or 4 infections occurred in 64 percent
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Jan. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, talquetamab plus teclistamab shows response in a high percentage of patients and a higher incidence of grade 3 or 4 infections than with either therapy alone, according to a study published in the Jan. 9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Yael C. Cohen, M.D., from the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel, and colleagues conducted a phase 1b-2 study of talquetamab plus teclistamab in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Five dose levels were investigated in a dose-escalation study in phase 1. The recommended phase 2 regimen was talquetamab at a dose of 0.8 mg/kg body weight plus teclistamab at a dose of 3.0 mg/kg every other week. The primary objective of the study was to evaluate adverse events and dose-limiting toxic effects.
Ninety-four patients received treatment; 44 used the recommended phase 2 regimen. Patients were followed for a median of 20.3 months. The researchers found that three patients had dose-limiting toxic effects (including one with grade 4 thrombocytopenia, who received the recommended phase 2 regimen). The most common adverse events across all dose levels were cytokine release syndrome, neutropenia, taste changes, and nonrash skin events. Ninety-six percent of patients had grade 3 or 4 adverse events, most often hematologic events. Sixty-four percent of patients had grade 3 or 4 infections. A response occurred in 80 percent of the patients with the recommended phase 2 regimen and in 78 percent across all dose levels. The likelihood of patients continuing in response at 18 months was 86 and 77 percent with the recommended phase 2 regimen and across all dose levels, respectively.
“On the basis of these results, this dual-targeting, off-the-shelf combination therapy warrants further investigation in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma,” the authors write.
The study was funded by Janssen, which manufactures talquetamab and teclistamab.
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