Il multiple myeloma it’s a blood cancer which originates in the bone marrow and affects about 4,500 people each year. The medical history of patients with multiple myeloma is characterized by phases of remission induced by anti-myeloma therapies and phases of active disease caused by acquired drug resistance by the tumor cells.
Il new drug, teclistamabit is precisely a ttreatment for patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received prior therapies and who have evidence of disease progression.
“The arrival of teclistamab in Italy represents a significant step forward for a category of patients who have little chance of obtaining a response with standard therapies, but who, until now, also had few therapeutic alternatives”, he explains Elena Zamagni, Associate Professor of Hematology at the ‘L. and A. Seràgnoli’ of the IRCCS AOU S. Orsola-Malpighi of Bologna. «The registration studies have shown that two thirds of patients treated with teclistamab not only obtained a good, or even excellent, response to therapy, but that these responses are maintained on average for a year and a half. Since these are patients with the disease in an advanced stage, the latter represents an optimal result ».
The subcutaneous formulation and the immediate availability of the drug also allow for a significant reduction in administration times and greater accessibility to therapy. «Teclistamab offers advantages not only clinically, but also in terms of accessibility and logistics of administration, thanks to the very nature of the drug and its method of administration, subcutaneously, in a day-hospital setting» comments Roberto Mina, hematologist and researcher at the Hematology division of the City of Health and Science of Turin and university researcher at the University of Turin. «Being a ready-to-use therapy, it can be administered by intervening promptly even in the event of rapid progression of the disease. Furthermore, subcutaneous administration, compared to other therapeutic regimens, is much more convenient and easier, not only for the patient, but also in terms of management and organization of resources in the individual centres”.
In the video:
Robert MINA
Hematologist Division of Hematology of the City of Health and Science of Turin – Researcher University of Turin
Elena ZAMAGNI
Professor of Hematology Seràgnoli Institute of Hematology S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital Bologna
Rosalba BARBERI
Vice-President of AIL – Italian Association against Leukaemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma