Venetoclax-Dexamethasone Versus Pomalidomide-Dexamethasone in t(11;14)-Positive Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma: Primary Results of the Randomized, Phase III CANOVA Study

  • Rakesh Popat
  • , Meral Beksac
  • , Meletios A. Dimopoulos
  • , Moshe E. Gatt
  • , Francesca Gay
  • , Jae Cheol Jo
  • , Prashant Kapoor
  • , Eirini Katodritou
  • , K. Martin Kortüm
  • , Silvia Ling
  • , Chandramouli Nagarajan
  • , Kenshi Suzuki
  • , Lugui Qiu
  • , Maika Onishi
  • , Grace Ku
  • , Monique Dail
  • , Nabanita Mukherjee
  • , Jeremy A. Ross
  • , Mohamed Ali Badawi
  • , Mary Jean Fusco
  • Edyta Dobkowska, Emma Arriola, Orlando F. Bueno, Nizar J. Bahlis, Shinsuke Iida, Philippe Moreau, Jason Valent, María Victoria Mateos*
*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

PURPOSE – Venetoclax, an oral BCL-2 inhibitor, has efficacy in t(11;14)-positive relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), which is enhanced by dexamethasone, which promotes BCL-2 dependency.METHODS – The randomized, open-label, phase III CANOVA study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03539744) enrolled adults with t(11;14)-positive RRMM who had received ≥2 previous lines of therapy. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to venetoclax-dexamethasone or pomalidomide-dexamethasone until progression or intolerable toxicity. The primary end point was independent review committee assessed–progression-free survival (PFS) in the intention-to-treat population analyzed by stratified log-rank test (two-sided type I error rate, α =.05), with hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI estimated by stratified Cox proportional hazard model. Secondary end points included response rates, overall survival (OS), minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity rate (<10–5), and safety.RESULTS – Overall, 263 patients were randomly assigned (venetoclax-dexamethasone, n = 133; pomalidomide-dexamethasone, n = 130). Median PFS was 9.9 months (95% CI, 6.9 to 12.6) with venetoclax-dexamethasone versus 5.8 months (95% CI, 3.8 to 9.2) with pomalidomide-dexamethasone (HR, 0.823 [95% CI, 0.596 to 1.136]; P =.24). Overall response and very good partial response or better rates were 62% and 39%, respectively, with venetoclax-dexamethasone versus 35% and 14% with pomalidomide-dexamethasone. MRD negativity rate was 8% with venetoclax-dexamethasone and 0% with pomalidomide-dexamethasone. Median OS was 32.4 months (95% CI, 26.4 to 40.7) with venetoclax-dexamethasone and 26.9 months (95% CI, 20.4 to 38.9) with pomalidomide-dexamethasone (HR, 0.856 [95% CI, 0.612 to 1.197]). Grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse event rates were 67% with venetoclax-dexamethasone versus 83% with pomalidomide-dexamethasone. There were 16 (12%) treatment-emergent deaths with venetoclax-dexamethasone versus 8 (6%) with pomalidomide-dexamethasone.CONCLUSION – The primary end point of PFS was not met. PFS and OS were numerically longer with venetoclax-dexamethasone versus pomalidomide-dexamethasone in t(11;14)-positive RRMM. Consistent with previous studies, infections were associated with venetoclax-dexamethasone; no new safety signals were observed.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Clinical Oncology
Volume327
DOIs
StatePublished - 2025
Externally publishedYes

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© 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology

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