Multiple myeloma (MM) is a neoplastic expansion of bone marrow plasma cells. Despite advances in treatment in recent years, MM is still a fatal disease. MM is characterized by the ability of malignant cells to produce large amounts of monoclonal immunoglobulin. The secretion of these immunoglobulins can be detected as the "M-protein" in serum, and the measurement of the M-component is used both for diagnosis and to evaluate treatment response and relapse. The high load of secreted proteins in MM cells requires a efficient way to clear these proteins from the cells and targeting protein degradation is an important therapeutic target in MM. This is today done by inhibiting the proteasome, one of the two central ways cells can degrade proteins, by drugs named proteasome inhibitors (including bortezomib, ixazomib and carfilzomib). Patients become resistant to these drugs, and it is therefore likely that myeloma cells also utilise another important system for protein degradation, called autophagy. Pre-clinical studies have shown that the combination of the proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib and the autophagy inhibitor hydroxychloroquine increases myeloma cell death and that hydroxychloroquine is able to reverse MM cell resistance to carfilzomib. This is the rationale for this study, where the investigators add the autophagy inhibitor hydroxychloroquine to a standard regime of carfilzomib and dexamethasone, to determine a maximum tolerated dose of this combination and to study tolerability.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
19
All patients start with a 14 days run-in with monotherapy with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) at their assigned dose level. Then they continue with 6 28-day cycles of HCQ/Carfilzomib/Dexamethasone. 3 patients at each dose level.
All patients start with a 14 days run-in with monotherapy with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) at their assigned dose level. Then they continue with 6 28-day cycles of HCQ/Carfilzomib/Dexamethasone. 3 patients at each dose level.
All patients start with a 14 days run-in with monotherapy with hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) at their assigned dose level. Then they continue with 6 28-day cycles of HCQ/Carfilzomib/Dexamethasone. 3 patients at each dose level.
Oslo University Hospital, Department of Hematology, Oslo Myeloma Center
Oslo, Norway
St. Olavs Hospital, Department of Hematology
Trondheim, Norway
maximum tolerated dose of hydroxychloroquine when added to standard-dose regimen of carfilzomib/dexamethasone
Time frame: 3 months
estimate of toxicity rate of hydroxychloroquine when added at a maximum tolerated dose to standard-dose regimen of carfilzomib/dexamethasone
Time frame: 3 months
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