BSH 2022 | Updates from the FiTNEss trial
Graham Jackson, MBBS, FRCP, FRCPath, MD, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle, UK, gives an overview of the FiTNEss (Myeloma XIV) trial (NCT03720041), which aims to investigate treatment approaches for older, less fit patients with multiple myeloma. Prof. Jackson explains how this trial aims to address the needs of patients who are not always eligible for clinical trials, and how frailty can be better assessed in this patient population. Prof. Jackson concludes by explaining some challenges faced by this cohort of patients, and the importance of this clinical trial in the future of myeloma treatment. This interview took place at the 62nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the British Society for Haematology (BSH) 2022, in Manchester, UK.
Transcript (edited for clarity)
I’ve just been talking about the FiTNEss trial at BSH 2022. The FiTNEss trial is a trial for older, less-fit patients. It’s really a trial to try and address some of the needs of our patients in clinic, who won’t always be eligible for clinical trials, the older patients, the patients who are frail, and also, it’s a trial around looking at how we can better assess frailty...
I’ve just been talking about the FiTNEss trial at BSH 2022. The FiTNEss trial is a trial for older, less-fit patients. It’s really a trial to try and address some of the needs of our patients in clinic, who won’t always be eligible for clinical trials, the older patients, the patients who are frail, and also, it’s a trial around looking at how we can better assess frailty.
We know there’s been enormous success in the way that treatment is being run for younger and fitter patients, but one of the things we haven’t seen is those benefits for older and frailer myeloma patients. They’re not staying on treatment as long, they have more toxicity with therapy, they don’t have the same outcomes from therapy. So, FiTNEss, or MYELOMA XIV, is really an attempt to look at those patients that are often excluded from clinical trials because of their frailty. And we have recruited fantastically well over the last two to three years across the UK. It’s a real Testament to UK trials teams and we’ve recruited, nearly 25% of our patients are over 80. That’s not seen in clinical trials. We’ve got patients of ECOG status three, they’re normally excluded from clinical trials. So, we are really trying to include patients who are normally excluded.
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Disclosures
Speaker honoraria engagements: Amgen, Takeda, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Celgene and Roche; Research funding: Takeda, Onyx and Celgene; Advisory Boards: Amgen, Takeda, Johnson & Johnson, Oncopeptides, Pfizer, Sanofi, Celgene, GSK and Roche; Board of directors Myeloma UK.
