Impact of COPD and Asthma on Multiple Myeloma Outcomes

A study published in Oncology and Therapy evaluated the impact of respiratory illnesses on outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma (MM).

This retrospective, observational study utilized the United States Optum electronic health records database to identify 5,186 adult patients treated for MM between 2006 and 2019. At baseline, 10.1% of patients (n=524) had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 7.2% (n=373) had asthma. Around half of patients received first-line treatment with either bortezomib or lenalidomide, and 31.1% received a two-agent regimen. Time to next treatment (TNT) and overall survival (OS) were compared between patients with and without COPD or asthma.

The median TNT was significantly longer for patients with COPD compared with patients without COPD (27.56 vs. 22.10 months). There was no significant difference in TNT between patients with or without asthma (25.83 vs. 22.56 months). There was a statistically significant overall difference in TNT between patients with either COPD or asthma compared with patients with no respiratory comorbidity (25.8 vs. 22.38 months).

The mean OS for patients with COPD was 38.8 months, significantly shorter than the OS of 67.9 months among patients without COPD. The adjusted mortality hazard ratio (HR) was 1.3 for patients with comorbid COPD (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-1.51; P<0.005). The mean OS for patients with asthma was 73.3 months compared with 60.9 months among patients without asthma (HR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.75-1.1). Overall, the mean OS for patients with either respiratory illness was 45.03 months compared with 66.86 months among patients without either comorbidity (HR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.98-1.27).

“These real-world data suggest that patients with asthma or COPD do not experience a shorter time interval to next treatment but have significantly worse OS from start of first-line therapy and numerically worse survival from the start of later lines,” wrote the study authors in conclusion.
“Future investigations with larger datasets may improve the understanding of the influence of individual treatments on outcomes in these patients.”