J&J drug helps delay multiple myeloma in high-risk patients

The Johnson & Johnson drug Darzalex showed promise in helping keep a precancerous condition from progressing to the blood cancer multiple myeloma for those at high risk, according to results from a trial presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting in San Diego. Darzalex, a monoclonal antibody that targets a protein found on the surface of myeloma cells known as CD38, significantly reduced patients’ risk of developing the blood cancer and improved their survival in an international late-stage trial. “These results are a major advancement in the treatment of high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma,” study leader Dr. S. Vincent Rajkumar of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota said in a statement. In smoldering multiple myeloma, abnormal plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow. As the abnormal cells and certain proteins accumulate, a patient’s risk for cancer increases.