A recent clinical trial examining the effect of Nexavar (sorafenib) on multiple myeloma patients was terminated because of lack of effectiveness.

Nexavar is currently approved for the treatment of advanced kidney and liver cancers. It acts to stop the activity of overactive proteins that can cause cells to become cancerous.

This Phase 2 study enrolled 23 heavily pretreated multiple myeloma patients, who were given a 400 mg oral dose of Nexavar daily until their disease progressed or toxicity was noted.

The study was terminated because of lack of effectiveness or severe toxicity in the first 18 patients assessed. Among those 18 patients, the best response seen was stable disease, which was observed in three patients.  The remaining patients experienced disease progression.

The median progression-free survival was one month. Overall survival at 12 months was 50 percent.

Toxicities experienced by patients included thrombocytopenia (low numbers of platelets in the blood), neutropenia (low numbers of white blood cells), and anemia (low numbers of red blood cells), among others.

The researchers concluded that while Nexavar administered alone does not show activity, it may be beneficial in combination with Velcade (bortezomib), Revlimid (lenalidomide), or Afinitor (everolimus) in relapsed or refractory myeloma patients. Studies investigating these potential combination treatments are currently underway.

For more information, see the article abstract from the ASCO 2009 Annual Meeting.