Pomalidomide for Lenalidomide for Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma Patients

The purpose of this clinical research study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness (good and bad effects) of pomalidomide given as part of a combination therapy that include more than just steroids to treat subjects with relapsed (subjects whose disease came back) or refractory (subjects whose disease did not respond to past treatment) multiple myeloma (MM). Pomalidomide (alone or in combination with dexamethasone) has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of MM patients who have received at least two prior therapies, including lenalidomide and bortezomib, and have demonstrated disease progression on or within 60 days of completion of their last therapy. However, the use of pomalidomide in combination with other drugs used to treat MM, such as chemotherapeutic agents and proteasome inhibitors, is currently being tested and is not approved. Pomalidomide is in the same drug class as thalidomide and lenalidomide. Like lenalidomide, pomalidomide is a drug that alters the immune system and it may also interfere with the development of small blood vessels that help support tumor growth. Therefore, in theory, it may reduce or prevent the growth of cancer cells. The testing done with pomalidomide thus far has shown that it is well-tolerated and effective for subjects with MM both on its own and in combination with dexamethasone. Using another drug class, namely proteasome inhibitors, we have demonstrated that simply replacing a proteasome inhibitor with another in an established anti-myeloma treatment regimen can frequently overcome resistance regardless of the other agents that are part of the anti-myeloma regimen. Importantly, the toxicity profile of the new combinations closely resembled that of the proteasome inhibitor administered as a single agent. Based on this experience, we hypothesize that the replacement of lenalidomide with pomalidomide will yield similar results in a similar relapsed/refractory MM patient