# Carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone for relapsed multiple myeloma

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-lenalidomide-multiple-myeloma-n-engl-j-med-2015/  
OnCo record `paper-lenalidomide-multiple-myeloma-n-engl-j-med-2015` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Phase 2 or 3 results paper on Lenalidomide in Multiple myeloma, in New England Journal of Medicine (2015), one of the most cited Europe PMC records with Lenalidomide in its title.

## Summary

Background: Lenalidomide plus dexamethasone is a reference treatment for relapsed multiple myeloma. The combination of the proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib with lenalidomide and dexamethasone has shown efficacy in a phase 1 and 2 study in relapsed multiple myeloma.

Methods: We randomly assigned 792 patients with relapsed multiple myeloma to carfilzomib with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (carfilzomib group) or lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone (control group). The primary end point was progression-free survival.

Results: Progression-free survival was significantly improved with carfilzomib (median, 26.3 months, vs. 17.6 months in the control group; hazard ratio for progression or death, 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.57 to 0.83; P=0.0001). The median overall survival was not reached in either group at the interim analysis. The Kaplan-Meier 24-month overall survival rates were 73.3% and 65.0% in the carfilzomib and control groups, respectively (hazard ratio for death, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.99; P=0.04). The rates of overall response (partial response or better) were 87.1% and 66.7% in the carfilzomib and control groups, respectively (P<0.001; 31.8% and 9.3% of patients in the respective groups had a complete response or better; 14.1% and 4.3% had a stringent complete response). Adverse events of grade 3 or higher were reported in 83.7% and 80.7% of patients in the carfilzomib and control groups, respectively; 15.3% and 17.7% of patients discontinued treatment owing to adverse events. Patients in the carfilzomib group reported superior health-related quality of life.

Conclusions: In patients with relapsed multiple myeloma, the addition of carfilzomib to lenalidomide and dexamethasone resulted in significantly improved progression-free survival at the interim analysis and had a favorable risk-benefit profile. (Funded by Onyx Pharmaceuticals; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01080391.).

Indexed on Europe PMC as PubMed record 25482145 (DOI 10.1056/nejmoa1411321). Its title names Lenalidomide and its text names Multiple myeloma; PubMed types it as a clinical trial report (Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Randomized Controlled Trial). It was matched automatically to the idea "MRD-guided treatment-free intervals in myeloma" and no figure has been checked by an editor.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-22
- Tags: europepmc-ingest
- Journal: New England Journal of Medicine
- Year: 2015
- DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa1411321
- Authors: Stewart AK, Rajkumar SV, Dimopoulos MA, et al.
- What it means: One of the most cited trial reports Europe PMC returns for Lenalidomide in Multiple myeloma, so it is a natural first reading for anyone weighing the idea it is linked from. The record was linked automatically by title and abstract; read the abstract above and the paper itself before relying on any figure.
- Caveats: Matched by Lenalidomide in the title and Multiple myeloma in the title or abstract of the Europe PMC record; the summary reproduces the record's abstract and no figure has been verified against the full paper.; Chosen as a phase 2 or 3 report by the record's publication type or its own wording, not by reading the paper.

## Sources

- N Engl J Med 2015: https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa1411321
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25482145/
- Europe PMC: https://europepmc.org/article/MED/25482145

## Connected records

- journals: [New England Journal of Medicine](https://onco.cc/journals/nejm/)
- ideas: [MRD-guided treatment-free intervals in myeloma](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-mrd-guided-stop-myeloma/)

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