Literature Scan
patients (p=0.46 for LIS non-recipients
and p<0.001 for LIS recipients), but
again, not for bortezomib-treated
patients (p=0.54 and p=0.60).
Overall survival at one year was
similar between patients who received
IMiDs and those who received
bortezomib without IMiDs (71.4% and
75.1%), as well as those who received
a combination of both (81.3%).
“The escalating cost of novel anti-
cancer medications has raised
concerns about financial toxicity for
patients and health-care system alike,”
the authors concluded. “Subsidies
alleviating patients’ financial burden
for orally administered chemotherapy
may significantly influence treatment
selection among certain beneficiaries
with MM and their subsequent health
outcomes.”
“[The] increased
use of IMiDs
among low-
income subsidy
recipients ...
suggests that
the low-income
subsidies may
have facilitated
access to IMiDs.”
—ADAM J. OLSZEWSKI, MD
The study is limited by its use of
database information, which does
not discern reasons for prescription
delays or whether out-of-pocket
costs were paid by beneficiaries or
tertiary sources. The researchers
also excluded patients enrolled on
managed-care plans and those with
alternative prescription coverage, so
the results may not be generalizable
to the entire patient population.
The study was supported by the
American Cancer Society and an
American Society of Hematology
Scholar Award.
The authors report no financial
conflicts.
REFERENCE
Olszewski AJ, Dusetzina SB, Eaton CB. Subsidies for oral
chemotherapy and use of immunomodulatory drugs among
Medicare beneficiaries with myeloma. J Clin Oncol. 2017 May 25.
[Epub ahead of print]
64
ASH Clinical News
Post-AHCT Maintenance Therapy With
Rituximab Prolongs Survival in MCL
Maintenance therapy with the anti-CD20 monoclonal
antibody rituximab after autologous hematopoietic
cell transplantation (AHCT) prolonged event-free,
progression-free, and overall survival in patients with
mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), compared with those
who did not receive maintenance therapy, according to a
study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
In an unblinded, prospective, randomized, phase III
trial, Steven Le Gouill, MD, PhD, from the University
Hospital Hôtel-Dieu in Nantes, France, and co-authors