Background: Some institutions have implemented a daratumumab intravenous rapid-infusion protocol in which patients with multiple myeloma (MM) receive their third and subsequent infusions within ~ 90 min instead of ≥ 3 h.
Objective: This study sought to understand the utilization, effectiveness, and infusion reactions (IRs) observed in patients with MM who received daratumumab rapid infusions.
Methods: Electronic medical records from Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute were used. Adult patients with MM who received one or more rapid daratumumab infusion (full dose in ≤ 110 min) at their third or later infusion of the first daratumumab-containing regimen (index date: 16 November 2015 to 15 March 2019) were included. IRs included events that (1) occurred ≤ 24 h post-daratumumab infusion or (2) were stated as an IR in the patient charts. Non-IR adverse events (AEs) were events attributed to daratumumab in patient charts that did not meet the IR definition.
Results: In total, 147 patients received one or more rapid infusion in their first daratumumab-containing regimen. Median time from initial MM diagnosis to index date was 2.5 years. Non-IR AEs occurred in 10.2% of patients during treatment, and 36.7% experienced one or more IR after receiving a daratumumab infusion. No IRs occurred after a rapid infusion. The overall response rate was 91.1% (after rapid infusions only: 71.3%).
Conclusions: This study provides real-world evidence on the practice patterns of daratumumab rapid infusions in a large community-based oncology clinic system. These results suggest that treatment regimens including daratumumab rapid infusions at the third infusion or later were well-tolerated, and their effectiveness was comparable to that observed in clinical trials.