Dr. Sagar Lonial Discusses the CheckMate 602 Study

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) cells may evade immune surveillance by suppressing immune responses through the PD-1 pathway, via upregulation of PD-L1.Nivolumab (nivo), a PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor that blocks PD-L1 interaction and disrupts MM-mediated PD-1 signaling, demonstrated modest activity as monotherapy in patients (pts) with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) in a phase 1b study.2.  Pomalidomide, an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD), may sensitize MM cells to PD-1 blockade, and has shown efficacy with dexamethasone (Pd) for RRMM. Elotuzumab (elo), an anti-SLAMF7 monoclonal antibody, directly activates natural killer cells and facilitates antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity. Preclinical work suggests PD-1 blockade may enhance elo efficacy3; thus nivo + Pd + elo may increase clinical benefit.

Author(s): Sagar Lonial, Paul G. Richardson, Donna Ellen Reece, Hesham Mohamed, Suresh Shelat, Jesus San Miguel; Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA; Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lawrenceville, NJ; Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ; Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada, IDISNA, CIBERONC, Pamplona, Spain

Clinical trial information: NCT02726581 (http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT02726581)

ABOUT SAGAR LONIAL, MD, FACP

Dr. Sagar Lonial is Chief Medical Officer at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University in Atlanta. He is board certified in hematology and medical oncology.  His research focus is "with combinations of novel agents as therapy for myeloma and lymphoma, particularly evaluating combinations that may result in synergistic inhibition of the PI3-K/Akt pathway." Visit Dr. Sagar Lonial's full biography (https://winshipcancer.emory.edu/bios/faculty/lonial-sagar.html).