Weekly as Opposed to Bi-Weekly Bortezomib as Part of Induction Chemotherapy in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma is Better Tolerated and Equally Efficient in Terms of Initial Therapeutic Response: Real-World Data from a Retrospective Audit

Bortezomib is a proteasome inhibitor that has shown efficacy in the treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The VTD (Bortezomib, Thalidomide, Dexamethasone) triplet chemotherapy regime is frequently used as induction prior to autologous stem cell transplant, in line with national and international recommendations. The manufacturer’s protocol for Bortezomib recommend a twice weekly dosing schedule. Adverse effects are common, most notably peripheral and autonomic neuropathy. These adverse effects can be disabling, even at lower grades and often limit drug tolerance. We propose a once weekly Bortezomib treatment regime as an alternate modus operandi. Here we use real-world data to demonstrate that weekly compared to bi-weekly Bortezomib is better tolerated whilst achieving similar outcomes in terms of initial therapeutic response. We demonstrate a trend of lower incidence of neuropathy- both peripheral and autonomic- with the weekly regime. There was also a trend of fewer serious adverse events with the weekly regime with lower rates of hospital admissions due to infections. In addition, we show that this regime is associated with better Thalidomide tolerance. We believe that delivery of Bortezomib through a weekly regime facilitates patients being able to maintain on Bortezomib longer and receive higher cumulative doses.