Early Mortality with Bispecific Antibody Therapy in RRMM: An IMWG Immunotherapy Database Real-World Analysis

Recent therapeutic advances, including bispecific antibody therapies (bsAbs) have improved outcomes for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). However, early mortality (EM) remains a significant challenge, even in the era of novel immunotherapies. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective analysis of real-world patients with RRMM treated with commercial bsAbs to evaluate the incidence and causes of EM. Between May 2022 and June 2025, 441 patients were treated across seven countries. EM, defined as death within 12 months of therapy initiation, occurred in 148 patients (34%) with median time from bsAb initiation to death of 2.87 months (IQR 1.38-6.85). The leading cause of EM was progressive disease (72%), followed by infection (13%); regardless of cause of death 82% had active disease at the time of death. Our findings highlight that despite encouraging efficacy, EM remains high among real-world bsAb recipients, emphasizing the need for improved disease control strategies and supportive care interventions.

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Journal
Blood Advances
Published
2026-02-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2025019231
Primary Topic
Multiple Myeloma Research and Treatments
Type
article
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article

Early Mortality with Bispecific Antibody Therapy in RRMM: An IMWG Immunotherapy Database Real-World Analysis

Jana Mihályová, Myo Htut, Christine Riedhammer, Ricardo Parrondo et al.
Blood Advances
Multiple Myeloma Research and Treatments
article

Early Mortality with Bispecific Antibody Therapy in RRMM: An IMWG Immunotherapy Database Real-World Analysis

Jana Mihályová, Myo Htut, Christine Riedhammer, Ricardo Parrondo, Murali Janakiram, Sireesha Asoori, Alissa Visram, Andriy Derkach, Johannes M. Waldschmidt, S. Ailawadhi, Mrugakshi Dave, Tom Martin, Oliver Morjaria, Wee Joo Chng, Hira Mian, Susan Bal, Carlyn Rose Tan, M A Dimopoulos, Saad Z. Usmani, Allison CY Tso, Joaquín Martínez-López, Rakesh Popat, Hermann Einsele, Andre De Menezes Silva Corraes, Efstathios Kastritis, Rahul Banerjee, Yi Lin, Chandramouli Nagarajan, Roman Hajek, Luciano J. Costa, Torsten Steinbrunn
article en

Abstract

Recent therapeutic advances, including bispecific antibody therapies (bsAbs) have improved outcomes for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). However, early mortality (EM) remains a significant challenge, even in the era of novel immunotherapies. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective analysis of real-world patients with RRMM treated with commercial bsAbs to evaluate the incidence and causes of EM. Between May 2022 and June 2025, 441 patients were treated across seven countries. EM, defined as death within 12 months of therapy initiation, occurred in 148 patients (34%) with median time from bsAb initiation to death of 2.87 months (IQR 1.38-6.85). The leading cause of EM was progressive disease (72%), followed by infection (13%); regardless of cause of death 82% had active disease at the time of death. Our findings highlight that despite encouraging efficacy, EM remains high among real-world bsAb recipients, emphasizing the need for improved disease control strategies and supportive care interventions.

Blood Advances
City Of Hope National Medical Center (US), Mayo Clinic (US), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US), University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GB), City College of San Francisco (US), University of California, San Francisco (US), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR), Singapore General Hospital (SG), Jacksonville College (US), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (SG), WinnMed (US), University of Alabama at Birmingham (US), Research Institute Hospital 12 de Octubre (ES), University Hospital Ostrava (CZ), Fred Hutch Cancer Center (US), National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (SG), City of Hope (US), Universitätsklinikum Würzburg (DE), Mayo Clinic in Florida (US), International Myeloma Foundation (US), University College London (GB), McMaster University (CA)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 44%
Multiple Myeloma Research and Treatments
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