The objectives of this study were to ascertain the treatment preferences of patients with multiple myeloma, considering benefits and risks of particular cancer treatments, and to illustrate how such data may be used to estimate patients' acceptance of new treatments.

On September 20, 2012, a marketing authorization valid throughout the European Union (EU) was issued for decitabine for the treatment of adult patients aged 65 years and older with newly diagnosed de novo or secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are not candidates for standard induction chemotherapy. Decitabine is a pyrimidine analog incorporated into DNA, where it irreversibly inhibits DNA methyltransferases through covalent adduct formation with the enzyme.The use of decitabine was studied in an open-label, randomized, multicenter phase III study (DACO-016) in patients with newly diagnosed de novo or secondary AML. Decitabine (n 5 242) was compared with patient's choice with physician's advice (n 5 243) of low-dose cytarabine or supportive care alone. The primary endpoint of the study was overall survival. The median overall survival in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population was 7.7 months among patients treated with decitabine compared with 5.0 months for those in the control arm (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69-1.04; p 5 .1079). Mature survival data after an additional year of follow-up were consistent with these results, with a median overall survival of 7.7 months in patients treated with decitabine and 5.0 months in the control arm (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.68-0.99; p 5 .0373). Secondary endpoints, including response rates, progressionfree survival, and event-free survival, were increased in favor of decitabine when compared with control treatment. The most common adverse drug reactions reported during treatment with decitabine are pyrexia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, febrile neutropenia, neutropenia, nausea, and diarrhea. This paper summarizes the scientific review of the application leading to approval of decitabine in the EU. The detailed scientific assessment report and product information (including the summary of product characteristics) for this product are available on the EMA website (http://www.ema.europa.eu). The Oncologist 2016;21:692-700

the European Commission issued a conditional marketing authorization valid throughout the European Union for pixantrone for the treatment of adult patients with multiply relapsed or refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma (NHL). Pixantrone is a cytotoxic aza-anthracenedione that directly alkylates DNAforming stable DNA adducts and cross-strand breaks. The recommended dose of pixantrone is 50 mg/m 2 administered on days 1, 8, and 15 of each 28-day cycle for up to 6 cycles. In the main study submitted for this application, a significant difference in response rate (proportion of complete responses and unconfirmed complete responses) was observed in favor of pixantrone (20.0% vs. 5.7% for pixantrone and physician's best choice, respectively), supported by the results of secondary endpoints of median progression-free and overall survival times (increase of 2.7 and 2.6 months, respectively). The most common side effects with pixantrone were bone marrow suppression (particularly of the neutrophil lineage) nausea, vomiting, and asthenia. This article summarizes the scientific review of the application leading to approval in the European Union. The detailed scientific assessment report and product information, including the summary of product characteristics, are available on the European Medicines Agency website (http://www.ema.europa.eu). The Oncologist 2013;18: 625-633 Implications for Practice: On February 16 2012, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended the granting of a conditional marketing authorization for pixantrone, 29 mg, powder for concentrate for solution for infusion for the treatment of patients with multiply relapsed aggressive non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) as monotherapy. In the main study submitted for this application, a significant difference in response rate (proportion of complete responses and unconfirmed complete responses) was observed in favor of pixantrone (20.0% vs. 5.7% for pixantrone and physician's best choice, respectively), supported by the results of secondary endpoints of median progression-free and overall survival times (increase of 2.7 and 2.6 months, respectively). The most common side effects are neutropenia, leucopoenia, anaemia, thrombocytopenia, asthenia, pyrexia, cough, decreased ejection fraction, and nausea. Haematological side effects are also the most common associated with grade 3 or 4 toxicity. Detailed recommendations for the use of this product are available on the EMA website. INTRODUCTION

On June 28, 2018, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use adopted a positive opinion, recommending the granting of a marketing authorization for the medicinal product Vyxeos, intended for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Vyxeos was designated as an orphan medicinal product on January 11, 2012. The applicant for this medicinal product was Jazz Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited. Vyxeos is a liposomal formulation of a fixed combination of daunorubicin and cytarabine, antineoplastic agents that inhibit topoisomerase II activity and also cause DNA damage. The strength of Vyxeos is 5 units/mL, where 1 unit equals 1.0 mg cytarabine plus 0.44 mg daunorubicin. The marketing authorization holder Jazz Pharmaceuticals had found that this was an optimal ratio for the efficacy of the product. Study CLTR0310‐301, a phase III, multicenter, randomized, trial of Vyxeos (daunorubicin‐cytarabine) liposome injection versus standard 3+7 daunorubicin and cytarabine in patients aged 60–75 years with untreated high‐risk (secondary) AML, showed a statistically significant difference between the two groups in overall survival (OS) with a median OS of 9.56 months in the daunorubicin‐cytarabine arm compared with 5.95 months for standard chemotherapy (hazard ratio, 0.69; 95% confidence interval, 0.52–0.90; one‐sided p = .003). The most common side effects were hypersensitivity including rash, febrile neutropenia, edema, diarrhea/colitis, mucositis, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, abdominal pain, decreased appetite, cough, headache, chills, arrhythmia, pyrexia, sleep disorders, and hypotension. Implications for Practice Vyxeos has demonstrated a clinically significant improvement in overall survival compared with the standard of care 7+3 in the proposed population of patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with myelodysplasia‐related changes and therapy‐related AML. This is remarkable given the very poor prognosis of these patients and their unmet medical need. Secondary endpoints support the primary outcome, in particular an increased rate of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which is potentially the only curative treatment in AML.

On August 5, 2013, a marketing authorization valid throughout the European Union (EU) was issued for pomalidomide in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM) who have received at least two prior treatment regimens, including both lenalidomide and bortezomib, and have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy. Pomalidomide is an immunomodulating agent. The recommended starting dose of pomalidomide is 4 mg once daily taken on days 1-21 of repeated 28-day cycles. The main evidence of efficacy for pomalidomide in MM was based on a phase III multicenter, randomized, open-label study in which pomalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone therapy (POM1LoDEX) was compared with high-dose dexamethasone alone (HiDEX) in previously treated adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who had received at least two prior treatment regimens, including both lenalidomide and bortezomib, and had demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy. For the intent-to-treat population, median progression-free survival based on International Myeloma Working Group criteria was 15.7 weeks (95% confidence interval [CI]: 13.0-20.1) in the POM1LoDEX group versus 8.0 weeks (95% CI: 7.0-9.0) in the HiDEX group (log-rank p value ,.001). Overall survival (secondary endpoint) was also different in the two treatment groups (hazard ratio 0.53 [95% CI: 0.37-0.74]). The most commonly reported adverse reactions to pomalidomide in clinical studies were anemia (45.7%), neutropenia (45.3%) and thrombocytopenia (27%), fatigue (28.3%), pyrexia (21%), peripheral edema (13%), and infections including pneumonia (10.7%). Peripheral neuropathy adverse reactions were reported in 12.3% of patients, and venous embolic or thrombotic (VTE) adverse reactions were reported in 3.3% of patients. Pomalidomide is expected to be teratogenic. This paper summarizes the scientific review of the application leading to approval in the EU. The detailed scientific assessment report and product information, including the summary of product characteristics, are available on the EMA website (http://www.ema.europa.eu). The Oncologist 2015;20:329-334 Implications for Practice: Pomalidomide in combination with low-dose dexamethasone has been approved in the European Union to treat adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. The approval is based on efficacy data in 455 adults with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior treatment regimens, including both lenalidomide and bortezomib, and have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy (Study CC-4047-MM-003). In this study, pomalidomide/low-dose dexamethasone was associated with a median progression-free survival of 16 weeks compared to 8 weeks for high-dose dexamethasone alone. The most common side effects associated with pomalidomide/low-dose dexamethasone were anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, fatigue and pyrexia. A teratogenic effect of pomalidomide in ...