Publications by authors named "Utkarsh Goel"

As patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) continue to live longer, they might get exposed to most available drugs and drug classes during the disease course. For such late line RRMM or among patients without access to novel therapies, retreatment with a drug that the disease had previously been refractory to might be one option. In this retrospective study, we describe 315 patients with RRMM at our institution who were retreated with a drug that the disease had been previously refractory to.

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Since the 1990s, the standard of care for the treatment of relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) had been salvage chemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDT-ASCT) in patients with a chemotherapy-sensitive remission. However, promising results from the recent TRANSFORM and ZUMA-7 trials evaluating the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapy versus HDT-ASCT for second line relapsed/refractory DLBCL have sought to challenge this standard of care. While these studies have established a new standard for the treatment of early relapsed and primary refractory DLBCL, significant differences in the trial design between these studies and limitations with the timing of randomization during the disease course warrant a thoughtful interpretation of the results.

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Article Synopsis
  • Clinical trials on CAR T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma usually exclude patients with AL amyloidosis, leading to a lack of data on its effectiveness for this group.
  • A study reviewed eight patients with both RRMM and AL amyloidosis who underwent standard CAR T-cell therapy, revealing that 75% experienced cytokine release syndrome and low-grade cytopenias were common.
  • The therapy resulted in rapid and significant responses, with a median time to best response of 43 days and a 62.5% rate of achieving a very good partial response or better, indicating that CAR T-cell therapy is feasible and effective for these patients.
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  • Daratumumab treatment for light chain (AL) amyloidosis can lead to early refractoriness, leaving patients with fewer options if they relapse or respond poorly.
  • This study assessed the effectiveness of venetoclax therapy in AL patients with t(11;14) who had previously failed daratumumab, involving 31 subjects.
  • Results showed a 97% overall hematologic response to venetoclax, with strong organ responses in patients with cardiac (74%) and renal (46%) involvement, indicating promising potential for venetoclax as a salvage therapy after daratumumab failure.
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  • Thrombocytopenia, defined as a platelet count under 150,000/mm, was present in 18.5% of 648 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients who received novel treatments between 2008 and 2018.
  • Factors linked to higher rates of thrombocytopenia included specific disease characteristics like IgA myeloma, advanced stages of disease, renal failure, and high plasma cell percentages.
  • Patients with thrombocytopenia had significantly shorter median overall survival (64.4 months) compared to those without it (145.0 months) and this condition was found to independently increase mortality risk.
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Current treatment guidelines of myeloma cast nephropathy (MCN) recommend the institution of plasma cell-directed therapy and consideration of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), with the goal of rapid reduction of the serum free light chain (sFLC). However, the role of TPE continues to remain a subject of debate. The goal of this retrospective bi-institutional study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of TPE in combination with systemic therapy.

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The presence of extramedullary disease (EMD) has been associated with poor outcomes in patients with relapsed-refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Herein, we report the outcomes of RRMM patients who were treated with standard-of-care (SOC) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy and had active extraosseous EMD before the infusion. Data were retrospectively collected from patients at three US institutions with the intent to receive SOC CAR T.

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  • Refractoriness to lenalidomide significantly influences initial treatment choices for multiple myeloma (MM) at first relapse, though the relationship between resistance and dosage remains unclear.
  • The study compared patient outcomes based on whether they were refractory to standard or low doses of lenalidomide after initial treatment, finding no difference in progression-free survival (PFS) between these groups.
  • Results indicate that lenalidomide resistance does not depend on dosage and that refractoriness classification should not vary with the amount of lenalidomide administered.
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  • A multicenter retrospective study was conducted to compare the safety and efficacy of two treatment regimens, DPd and DKd, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) who had not previously received daratumumab.
  • The study included 187 patients, showing that although the overall response rates were similar (76% for DPd vs. 80% for DKd), DPd had higher instances of neutropenia and lower complete response rates compared to DKd.
  • Ultimately, both treatments were found to be safe and effective, with no significant differences in survival outcomes despite varying side effects between the two regimens.*
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Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who do not respond to initial therapy have worse outcomes than primary responders, and effective treatments are lacking in this population. However, the outcomes of primary refractory disease in the modern treatment era have not yet been studied. We reviewed patients with MM treated with triplet/quadruplet therapy at our institution to assess the incidence of primary refractory disease and the impact of salvage therapies in this population.

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Lenalidomide-containing (R) triplet and quadruplet regimens are the standard of care for multiple myeloma (MM) and have been shown to increase the risk of thrombosis. The association between thromboembolism (TE) and survival in the novel multidrug era is not yet delineated. In this study, we evaluated the incidence of TE during the first year of MM diagnosis, its association with the type of induction regimen, and its impact on overall survival.

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Multiple Myeloma patients eligible for autologous hematopoietic transplantation (AHT) typically receive 3-6 cycles of induction therapy before transplant. The last induction cycle is completed 2-4 weeks prior to mobilization. We evaluated the impact of the time interval between end of induction and AHT on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

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Introduction: Treatment options for multiple myeloma (MM) have rapidly expanded over the past few years with several newly approved drugs. While there is need to explore treatments that lead to longer responses and survival, special consideration should be given on reducing treatment burden, reducing toxicities, and improving quality of life. Ixazomib is the first oral proteasome inhibitor for the treatment of MM, combining clinical efficacy with a favorable safety profile.

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Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy that is characterized by diverse clinical presentations. Although biochemical assessment of disease activity is commonly used to monitor treatment response, findings on magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT), among other imaging modalities, have proven to harbor prognostic value. We sought to corroborate these findings by examining the prognostic significance of fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT scanning in the setting of newly diagnosed MM.

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Major developments in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) over the past decade have led to a continued improvement in survival. Significant progress has been made with deeper and longer remissions seen with newer treatment approaches-both for induction as well as maintenance therapy. The treatment approach to MM is guided by several factors including patient age, frailty, comorbidities, eligibility for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), and risk stratification into standard-risk or high-risk MM.

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Background: Because of the rarity of desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT), there is a lack of data describing patterns of care and survival for these patients. Using a national tumor registry, the current study sought to describe patterns of care and clinical outcomes for patients with DSCRT.

Methods: Data from the National Cancer Database were used to identify 491 patients aged 18 years or older diagnosed with DSRCT between 2004 and 2014.

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Background: Although well described for gastrointestinal and pelvic cancers, use of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for the management of retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcoma (RPS) remains unknown. The current study aimed to describe patterns of MIS use and assess the association between MIS and clinical outcomes among patients undergoing surgery for RPS.

Methods: Patients undergoing a primary resection for RPS between 2010 and 2014 were identified using the National Cancer Database.

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