Combination treatment shows large improvement in survival for people with relapsed myeloma

Medical Xpress / Blood Cancer UK / Am Soc of Hematology Conf / New England Journal of Med ^ | Dec. 9, 2025 | Luciano J. Costa et al

[ConservativeMind]

New results from the MajesTEC-3 study show that combining teclistamab with daratumumab could help people with myeloma whose cancer has come back or hasn't responded to previous treatment, to live longer without their cancer getting worse.

The results published and presented represent the first phase 3 evidence that a bispecific antibody can outperform established triplet therapies in earlier relapse.

Myeloma is a type of blood cancer that affects plasma cells in the bone marrow. It is currently incurable and will return even after treatment to keep the disease at bay.

The phase 3 trial included 587 people from hospitals across Europe, Asia, the United States and South America. Everyone taking part had received between one and three earlier treatments.

The study found that people given teclistamab and daratumumab had a much longer period of remission (where the disease is undetectable) before their cancer came back compared to those given standard combinations such as daratumumab with pomalidomide or bortezomib.

At a median follow-up of 34.5 months, the combination of teclistamab and daratumumab produced one of the largest improvements ever seen in a major myeloma trial:

Progression-free survival at 36 months was 83.4% with teclistamab–daratumumab, compared with 29.7% on the standard combination.

Teclistamab is a bispecific antibody, meaning it binds to BCMA (on myeloma cells) and CD3 (on T cells), activating the immune system to kill cancer cells. Daratumumab, already a cornerstone of myeloma therapy, targets CD38 and helps create an immune environment that strengthens teclistamab's effects.

While serious side effects were common in both groups—70.7% in the teclistamab–daratumumab group and 62.4% with standard options—the safety profile was considered manageable.

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TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: medicalxpress

[ConservativeMind]

Teclistamab and Daratumumab are currently available, but together provides a nearly 3-fold progression-free survival than standard therapy.

[ConservativeMind]

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[dayglored]

My wife was diagnosed with MM in Jan 2020 and went through all of the standard treatments, all of which eventually became ineffective. The cancer ravaged her body, breaking all her long bones (arms and legs), damaging her kidneys to the brink of needing dialysis, etc.

Earlier this year she started on the bi-specific antibodies. The cancer markers (blood tests) took a dive, almost unbelievable response.

However the side effects have been horrific. CRS, ICANS, weakness, fatigue, respiratory trouble, gastrointestinal trouble, headaches, terrible unstoppable cough. It got bad enough she insisted on stopping the treatment, and switch to just monitoring the cancer markers going forward.

So this treatment is fantastic at what it does to the cancer. But when they say in the article: “...serious side effects were common in both groups...” they sure ain’t kidding.