title: Efficacy of carfilzomib in the treatment of relapsed and (or) refractory multiple myeloma: a meta-analysis of data from clinical trials.
abstract: Recently, carfilzomib has become a promising therapeutic approach for relapsed and (or) refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM), but no study has summarized the overall effect of carfilzomib in RRMM. To explore the role of carfilzomib, we performed a meta-analysis of all known prospective clinical trials to assess the efficacy of carfilzomib in patients with RRMM.
  
  
  
  A systematic review of publications was performed on December 15, 2015. Eight studies including 1,446 patients were identified. Meta-analyses were carried out to calculate the overall response rate (ORR), complete response rate (CRR), and clinical benefit rate (CBR) of carfilzomib for RRMM.
  
  
  
  In patients with RRMM, ORR was 0.44, CRR was 0.13, and CBR was 0.54. High heterogeneity between studies was observed, and funnel plots were symmetrical, negating publication bias. Carfilzomib was generally well tolerated by patients reported in the studies though some manageable adverse effects occurred.
  
  
  
  Our analysis revealed a promising benefit of carfilzomib in the treatment of RRMM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Oncology (Key Department of Jiangsu Medicine), Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, China.
authors.forename: Runzhe
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Oncology (Key Department of Jiangsu Medicine), Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, China.
authors.forename: Baoan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Oncology (Key Department of Jiangsu Medicine), Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Oncology (Key Department of Jiangsu Medicine), Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, China.
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gao
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D009842:Oligopeptides; C524865:carfilzomib