[Clinical outcomes of idecabtagene vicleucel therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: a single-center...

Idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) is effective for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), but real-world data in Japan are limited. We retrospectively analyzed 11 patients with RRMM who received ide-cel at our institution. The median age at infusion was 67 years (range, 54-71), and the median number of prior lines of therapy was 4 (range, 3-6). At best response, the overall response rate was 90.0%, with a complete response rate of 60.0%. With a median follow-up of 530 days (range, 198-1,032) among survivors, the 1-year overall survival and progression-free survival rates were 90.9% and 71.6%, respectively. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS) occurred in all patients, including one fatal grade 5 event. Analysis of peripheral blood chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) kinetics showed a trend toward better progression-free survival in patients with greater expansion from day0 to day28. Although the efficacy of ide-cel for RRMM in our cohort was comparable to that in previous reports, the management of severe CRS remains a challenge. Further investigation in a larger cohort is required to establish predictive factors for safety and efficacy in Japanese clinical practice.