
"I was delighted to take part in a clinical trial as it has the potential to really help others in the future.”
This trial looked at lenalidomide, bortezomib and vorinostat for people having non intensive treatment for newly diagnosed myeloma. It was supported by Cancer Research UK.
When this trial was done, doctors often treated newly diagnosed myeloma with a combination of drugs such as cyclophosphamide, thalidomide and dexamethasone.
This trial looked at these drugs alongside other treatments at various points, to see if they could help stop myeloma coming back.
There were two groups in this trial – the intensive group and the non intensive group. The people taking part were put into one of the two groups depending on how fit and well they were. Treatment for both groups included these 3 stages:
This information is about the non intensive group. We have separate information about the intensive group. The trial treatments for the non intensive group were lenalidomide, bortezomib and vorinostat.
The people taking part were put into 1 of 2 groups for induction treatment at random:
What they had next depended on how well their induction treatment worked. They either had:
People whose treatment hadn’t worked then left the trial to have other treatments. People whose treatment had worked were put into one of these 3 groups at random:
The main aims of this trial were to see whether:
There are several parts to this trial, and the various parts have been analysed and published separately. Here is a summary of what the results have shown so far. It includes information about:
Lenalidomide
The combination of cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone and lenalidomide worked better than cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone and thalidomide as induction treatment.
The research team also compared the results of those who had lenalidomide as maintenance treatment with those who didn’t.
They looked at how long it was before the myeloma started to grow, and found it was:
They then looked at how many people were living, 3 years after joining the trial. First they looked at everyone taking part – those in the intensive arm who had a stem cell transplant, and those in the non intensive arm who didn’t.
They found the number of people living was nearly 8 out of 10 (80%) in each group:
When they looked at how many people in the non intensive arm were living 3 years after joining the trial, they found it was:
Most people who had lenalidomide had at least one side effect, but many were mild or didn’t last long. Nearly half the people (45%) had more severe side effects. The most common side effects were infections and a drop in white blood cells, red blood cells and blood clotting cells (platelets).
The research team concluded that lenalidomide helped stop myeloma coming back but didn’t help people live longer.
Cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone
About half the people who didn’t respond very well to induction treatment went on to have cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone (CVD) treatment.
The research team looked at how long it was before the cancer started to grow, and found it was:
They looked at how many people were living 3 years after joining the trial, and found it was nearly 8 out of 10 (80%) in each group:
The research team concluded that the combination of cyclophosphamide, bortezomib and dexamethasone stopped the myeloma coming back, but didn’t help people live longer.
Minimal Residual Disease (MRD)
MRD means the number of myeloma cells left after treatment. The research team looked at the level of MRD after induction treatment. The results showed that people with no MRD (this is called being MRD negative) did better at the end of treatment than those who were MRD positive.
Genetic analysis
The research team looked at the genes of people taking part, to try and find links between genetic changes and how well treatment works. This work is still ongoing. But so far they have found a couple of changes in specific genes such as PAX4 and CD226, which may be useful in deciding who is most likely to benefit from treatment.
Predicting how well treatment will work
The research team used information about people in this trial to come up with what they call a predictive prognostic score. It combines information on the stage of their myeloma, how fit and well they are, their age and the level of a protein called CRP in their blood. It needs more work to make sure it is accurate before it can be widely used.
The results of this trial also showed that the treatment people need should depend on how fit and well they are, rather than how old they are.
Future results
Some of the people taking part in this trial are still having treatment and follow up appointments. The research team plan to analyse and publish more results in future. We hope to update this page once this information is available.
Where this information comes from
We have based this summary on information from the research team. The information they sent us has been reviewed by independent specialists () and published in a medical journal. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team who did the research. We have not analysed the data ourselves.
Please note: In order to join a trial you will need to discuss it with your doctor, unless otherwise specified.
Professor Graham Jackson
Cancer Research UK
Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC)
NIHR Clinical Research Network: Cancer
University of Leeds
This is Cancer Research UK trial number CRUK/09/014.
If you have questions about the trial please contact our cancer information nurses
Freephone 0808 800 4040
"I was delighted to take part in a clinical trial as it has the potential to really help others in the future.”