Challenges in Multiple Myeloma Therapy in Older and Frail Patients

Every year, more than 150,000 cases of multiple myeloma (MM) are diagnosed worldwide, and over 100,000 deaths caused by this malignancy are recorded. MM incidence is increasing globally, particularly in high-income countries and in the male population aged ≥50. While advances in treatment strategies have led to improvement of survival over the past decades, MM remains incurable in a large percentage of cases. Importantly, about one third of patients diagnosed with MM are >75 years old and are characterized by relatively low fitness or frailty. These patients are more vulnerable to stressors and present a lower resistance to cancer and related treatment. Therefore, patients’ fitness and frailty should become part of standard assessment in MM, and flexible therapeutic options should apply. A careful review of studies investigating the management of frail patients with MM, strongly supports the use of a dynamic assessment of effectiveness and adverse events associated with current treatments in the context of patient-specific frailty and co-morbidities.