Multiple myeloma (MM) mostly affects elderly patients, which represent a highly heterogeneous population. Indeed, comorbidities, frailty status and functional reserve may vary considerably among patients with similar chronological age. For this reason, the choice of treatment goals and intensity is particularly challenging in elderly patients, and it requires a multidimensional evaluation of the patients and the disease. In recent years, different tools to detect patient frailty have been developed, and the International Myeloma Working Group frailty score currently represents the gold standard. It identifies intermediate-fit and frail patients requiring gentler treatment approaches compared to fit patients, aiming to preserve quality of life and prevent toxicities. This subset of patients is underrepresented in clinical trials, and studies exploring frailty-adapted approaches are scarce, making the choice of therapy extremely challenging. Treatment options for intermediate-fit and frail patients might include dose-adapted combinations, doublets, and less toxic combinations based on novel agents. This review analyzes the available tools for the assessment of frailty and possible strategies to improve the discriminative power of the scores and expand their use in real-life and clinical trial settings. Moreover, it addresses the main therapeutic challenges in the management of intermediate-fit and frail MM patients at diagnosis and at relapse.

Diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in the management of intermediate and frail elderly multiple myeloma patients

Bonello F.
First
;
Boccadoro M.;Larocca A.
Last
2020-01-01

Abstract

Multiple myeloma (MM) mostly affects elderly patients, which represent a highly heterogeneous population. Indeed, comorbidities, frailty status and functional reserve may vary considerably among patients with similar chronological age. For this reason, the choice of treatment goals and intensity is particularly challenging in elderly patients, and it requires a multidimensional evaluation of the patients and the disease. In recent years, different tools to detect patient frailty have been developed, and the International Myeloma Working Group frailty score currently represents the gold standard. It identifies intermediate-fit and frail patients requiring gentler treatment approaches compared to fit patients, aiming to preserve quality of life and prevent toxicities. This subset of patients is underrepresented in clinical trials, and studies exploring frailty-adapted approaches are scarce, making the choice of therapy extremely challenging. Treatment options for intermediate-fit and frail patients might include dose-adapted combinations, doublets, and less toxic combinations based on novel agents. This review analyzes the available tools for the assessment of frailty and possible strategies to improve the discriminative power of the scores and expand their use in real-life and clinical trial settings. Moreover, it addresses the main therapeutic challenges in the management of intermediate-fit and frail MM patients at diagnosis and at relapse.
2020
12
11
1
17
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/11/3106
https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12113106
Frailty score; Frailty-tailored treatment; Multiple myeloma
Bonello F.; Boccadoro M.; Larocca A.
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Descrizione: [PUBLISHED Vsn.] Bonello et al. Cancers (Basel) . 2020 Oct 24;12(11):3106. doi: 10.3390/cancers12113106. PMID: 33114320; PMCID: PMC7690866. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/12/11/3106 | https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers12113106
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2318/1769708
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