Ixazomib Citrate for Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma – maintenance therapy following autologous stem cell transplant

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a rare, incurable cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow which is the spongy tissue found at the centre of some bones. MM is the second most common haematological cancer in the UK. Symptoms of MM vary but may include bone pain, fractures, body weakness, malaise, bleeding, anaemia and infections. MM is not usually considered a curable disease; treatment often involves a stem cell (or bone marrow) transplant that requires medications before and after to improve the success of treatment.
Ixazomib citrate is a novel oral medicinal product that is already licensed in the UK for the treatment of MM in patients who have received at least one prior therapy (in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone). Ixazomib citrate offers the potential advantage over similar medicines in its class of being more effective in its anticancer activity, less toxic (reduced side effects) and more convenient to administer (through its weekly oral dosing). If approved as maintenance therapy following stem cell transplant in newly diagnosed MM patients, ixazomib citrate has the potential to improve the success rates of treatment by improving progression free survival and overall survival as well as presenting a more convenient way of administration that allows long term administration and improvement of patients’ quality of life.