Ifm_05-may 2022 • Editor's Choice

Patients are encouraged to discuss the balance between disease control and the toxic long-term effects of maintenance drugs with their oncology team.

Research published around May 2022 explored the impact of "early" vs. "late" discontinuation (stopping before or after 3 years), noting that early stopping is often forced by toxicity rather than choice.

A significant number of patients (roughly 27%) had to stop the maintenance therapy early due to adverse side effects.

One critical finding was an increased risk of developing a second primary malignancy (SPM) while on long-term lenalidomide maintenance. Patient Considerations

The (often referred to simply as the IFM-05 study) focused on using lenalidomide as a maintenance treatment.