PURPOSE: This proof-of-principle clinical trial evaluated whether an allogeneic multiple myeloma (MM) GM-CSF-secreting vaccine (MM-GVAX) in combination with lenalidomide could deepen the clinical response in patients with MM in sustained near complete remission (nCR). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Fifteen patients on lenalidomide were treated with MM-GVAX and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) (Prevnarñ) at 1, 2, 3 and 6 months. RESULTS: Eight patients (53.3%) achieved a true CR. With a median follow-up of 5 years, the median progression-free survival had not been reached, and the median overall survival was 7.8 years from enrollment. MM-GVAX induced clonal T-cell expansion and measurable cytokine responses that persisted up to 7 years in all patients. At baseline, a higher minimal residual disease was predictive of early relapse. After vaccination, a lack of both CD27(-)DNAM1(-)CD8+ T cells and antigen-presenting cells was associated with disease progression. CONCLUSIONS: MM-GVAX, along with lenalidomide, effectively primed durable immunity and resulted long-term disease control, as suggested by the reappearance of a detectable, fluctuating M-spike without meeting the criteria for clinical relapse. For patients in a nCR, MM-GVAX administration was safe and resulted in prolonged clinical responses.
An allogeneic multiple myeloma GM-CSF-secreting vaccine with lenalidomide induces long-term immunity and durable clinical responses in patients in near complete remission
(1) Biavati L (2) Huff CA (3) Ferguson A (4) Sidorski A (5) Stevens MA (6) Rudraraju L (7) Zucchinetti C (8) Ali SA (9) Imus P (10) Gocke CB (11) Gittelman RM (12) Johnson S (13) Sanders C (14) Vignali M (15) Gandhi A (16) Ye X (17) Noonan KA (18) Borrello I