OBJECTIVES: Adopting innovative treatments for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) may come with high healthcare resource utilization (HCRU). This analysis evaluates HCRU in patients receiving different treatment modalities for RRMM in four European countries.

METHODS: PREAMBLE is an ongoing, prospective, multinational, observational study (NCT01838512) of RRMM patients receiving proteasome inhibitors (PI), immunomodulatory drugs (IMiD), IMiD+PI combination, or novel agents, including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs; daratumumab [dara] and elotuzumab [elo]). The median duration of treatment (mDoT) was estimated using Kaplan–Meier methods and HCRU was estimated from start of index therapy using the mean number of visits, per-1000-patients-per-month (1000 PPM) over a 12-month period.

RESULTS: 892 patients (median age 70 years; 57% male) were enrolled in: France, 249 patients; Germany, 212 patients; Italy, 245 patients; and the UK, 186 patients. Median age at diagnosis (72, 71, 70, and 64 years for mAbs, IMiDs, PIs, and IMiD+PI; p<.0001), and number of prior lines of therapy (3, 2, 2, and 2 prior lines for mAbs, IMiDs, PIs, and IMiD+PI; p=0.0004), were significantly different between cohorts. The mDoT for patients receiving PIs (n=317) was 4.7 months, shorter than other treatments (mAbs [dara, n=37; elo, n=12]: 8.7 months, IMiDs [n=463]: 9.9 months, IMiD+PI [n=63]: 7.7 months). Although baseline characteristics were similar between elo (monotherapy) and dara cohorts (included mono-triple therapies), the mDoT was significantly longer for elo versus dara (12.1 vs 7.7 months; p=0.0009). Per 1000 PPM, patients receiving PIs had the most HCRU visits, and those receiving mAbs the fewest, in a 12-month period versus other treatment classes (PI, 1,873; IMiD, 1,378; IMiD+PI, 1,509; mAb, 354).

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest HCRU may differ between treatment modalities and indicate a trend towards lower HCRU with mAbs. The study is ongoing and future analyses will further explore HCRU patterns observed with these new treatments in routine clinical practice.