Talquetamab for people living with relapsed/ refractory multiple myeloma: plain language summary of the MonumenTAL-1 study

Abstract

Plain Language SummaryWhat is this summary about?This summary describes how well talquetamab worked and its safety at a median (midpoint) of 17–26 months follow-up from the MonumenTAL-1 study, which tested talquetamab treatment for a type of cancer called relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.What are the key takeaways?Over 70% of participants receiving talquetamab 0.4 mg/kg once a week, and 69% of participants receiving talquetamab 0.8 mg/kg once every other week, had their multiple myeloma improve. Participants with previous T-cell redirection therapy showed similar results. Around 23% to 32% of participants achieved stringent complete response, meaning their multiple myeloma became undetectable. Some participants experienced side effects linked to how talquetamab works, most commonly cytokine release syndrome, taste changes, and infections. The most common serious side effects were anemia and lower immune cell counts than normal. Twelve out of 375 participants experienced side effects leading to death; none were related to talquetamab treatment.What were the main conclusions reported by the researchers?With longer follow-up, most participants receiving talquetamab continued to experience improvement in their multiple myeloma. Although side effects were common, very few participants stopped talquetamab treatment because of side effects.Clinical trial number: NCT03399799Clinical trial number: NCT04634552