"This is an intriguing observation," Dr. Martha Q. Lacy said in a separate interview. "The author points out that it is a retrospective study, and results could be confounded by a number of variables, so I agree that one cannot take this as the definitive word on this subject. This should be studied in well-designed prospective studies. It also underscores the need to design trials with overall survival as the primary end point.
"Increasingly, myeloma studies have used remission rates and progression-free survival as primary end points," she said. "If studies are not designed with overall survival as the end point, we risk missing potentially critical insights into the best treatment strategies."
Dr. Lacy is with the hematology division at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
FROM THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY
*CLARIFICATION 1/23/12 The status of bortezomib and lenalidomide in treatment for multiple myeloma was clarified in this sentence.
