Low Dose Daily Corticosteroid Tapering Regimen Allows Highly Effective And Practical Desensitization For Multiple Myeloma Patients With Skin Rash After Immunomodulatory Drugs

Introduction: Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) are being frequently used as an integral part of induction regimen as well as maintenance after Bone Marrow Stem cell Transplant (BMSCT) therapy as backbone of therapy for patients with plasma cell neoplasm (PCN) including Multiple Myeloma (MM). Therapy is often complicated by dermatologic adverse effects which may herald a favorable prognosis suggesting a more robust immune stimulation by this class of drugs. The incidence of IMiD-associated rash is up to 27% in some reports and can range from mild to moderate to severe and life threatening skin toxicity including Steven-Johnsons syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis. IMiD-associated skin eruptions are thought to result from differential T cell immune modulation. The optimal management strategy for IMiD induced rash is unknown. The European Myeloma Network recommends topical corticosteroids and antihistamines for localized skin reactions. For severe reactions, a desensitization protocol with prolonged 6-week steroid taper is recommended based on a case series of five patients that developed delayed cutaneous adverse effects to IMiD [Lee MJ et al]. Dexamethasone used concomitantly with IMiD as part of the treatment regimen does not decrease the occurrence of skin rash as shown by Sviggum et al. The likely explanation is that concurrent dexamethasone is not effectively able to exert immunosuppressive activity to mitigate the occurrence of cutaneous reactions. Hence, a prolonged, daily steroid protocol is required for effective desensitization. Therefore, we designed a standardized 3-week steroid rash prophylaxis protocol with a low dose daily corticosteroid tapering regimen that allows desensitization and reinstitution of the same IMiD. We assessed the impact of this desensitization regimen on clinical outcomes, by comparing patients with versus without dermatologic manifestations.