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Review
. 2021 May 24;10(11):2261.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10112261.

Future Directions in Maintenance Therapy in Multiple Myeloma

Sarah A Holstein  1 , Vera J Suman  2 , Jens Hillengass  3 , Philip L McCarthy  4
Affiliations
Review

Future Directions in Maintenance Therapy in Multiple Myeloma

Sarah A Holstein et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been a backbone of therapy for newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma eligible for high-dose therapy for decades. Survival outcomes have continued to improve over time, in part because of the incorporation of highly effective induction regimens prior to ASCT as well as post-ASCT maintenance therapy. Randomized phase III clinical trials have helped establish lenalidomide maintenance as a standard of care. However, as nearly all patients will eventually experience disease relapse, there continues to be significant interest in developing novel maintenance strategies to improve upon lenalidomide maintenance. In this review, we summarize the available evidence for the use of immunomodulatory drugs, proteasome inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies as post-ASCT maintenance therapies as well as discuss future directions and unanswered questions in the field.

Keywords: lenalidomide; maintenance; minimal residual disease; multiple myeloma; overall survival; transplant.

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Conflict of interest statement

SAH has served as a consultant or member of an advisory board for BMS, Celgene, Genentech, GSK, Oncopeptides, Sanofi, Sorrento, Takeda and received research funding from Oncopeptides. VJS has nothing to disclose. JH has received honoraria from Janssen, has served on advisory boards for Adaptive Biotechnologies, Amgen, AXXESS Network, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Oncopeptides, Oncotracker, Sanofi, Skyline. PLM has served as a consultant for Bird Biotech, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Fate Therapeutics, Janssen, Juno, Karyopharm, Magenta Therapeutics, Sanofi and Takeda.

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