A national clinical trial supported by the NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre has demonstrated that a novel combination of targeted therapies can extend remission and improve quality of life for patients with relapsed myeloma, a blood cancer that accounts for 1 in every 50 new cancer diagnoses in the UK.
The study was led by Professor Gordon Cook, NIHR Leeds BRC Haematology Co-Theme Lead, Professor of Haematology at the University of Leeds, and Director of the Leeds Cancer Research Centre.
Myeloma is a type of blood cancer that affects bone marrow. It’s usually treated with a transplant using a patient’s own stem cells, supported by high-dose chemotherapy. While this treatment can lead to a period without symptoms, the cancer often returns, and options after a relapse are limited.
In this new study – called Myeloma XII (ACCoRd) – researchers tested whether a second stem cell transplant, combined with targeted cancer drugs instead of chemotherapy, could help people whose myeloma had come back. After the transplant, patients were given a drug called ixazomib to help keep the cancer under control for longer.
The results, published in The Lancet Haematology, showed that this new approach gave patients an extra seven months on average without their disease progressing, compared to those who had standard treatment. It also helped reduce the common side effects linked to long-term chemotherapy or steroids, like infections and weight gain.
Professor Cook said: “Not only did the ACCoRd trial improve patients’ time free from myeloma, it showed that using these drugs can also improve patients’ quality of life compared to using chemotherapy or long-term steroid use. Smarter, kinder treatments are a key part of the work we’re doing at the Leeds Cancer Research Centre.”
The trial involved 79 hospitals across the UK and was funded by Cancer Research UK, Stand Up To Cancer, and Takeda Oncology, which also provided the drug. It was run by the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit in Leeds and sponsored by the University of Leeds, with additional support from the NIHR Leeds Biomedical Research Centre.