P-159: Patient Experiences in Clinical Trials and Expectations from Future Treatments of Multiple Myeloma: Online Survey and Qualitative Interviews in China

Introduction: Understanding patient perspectives is crucial to optimize clinical trial (CT) design and accelerate the development of novel treatments. Although the number of CTs in China has increased, CT experiences of patients and expectations from novel treatments have not been well studied. This research aimed to understand these factors in Chinese patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM).

Methods: Data were collected between December 2023 to January 2024 through online surveys (N = 50) and interviews (N = 15) from patients with RRMM or caregivers in China. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data.

Results: Overall (N = 65), average age of patients was 57 years and 66% of them were male. Most of the patients (69%) were diagnosed with RRMM for >3 years and 97% of patients had participated in CTs by physicians’ recommendation. In the survey, 46% of patients expressed difficulty in understanding the information provided by physicians and 94% of them reported shared treatment decision-making with physician.

For patients in the survey, the main reason to participate in CTs was access to new drugs and better treatment outcomes (64%). Overall, 88% of patients in survey reported that they complied very well or perfectly to physicians’ requirements during the trial. The main reasons for not completing the CT procedure or treatment were uncontrollable factors, poor health, and unclear requirements. In the survey, 96% of patients reported improvement in their disease or physical condition by participating in CTs. Majority of patients (80%) in survey reported having good experiences, while 20% never had a good experience participating in CTs. Conversely, 32% of patients in survey shared bad experiences in terms of more blood collection, frequent hospital visits, and more bone marrow collection, while 68% of patients never had a bad experience. Nearly all patients (96%) in survey showed willingness to participate in future CTs.

For future treatments, patients in the interviews preferred oral administration (80%) or treatment at home (53%) and lesser treatment frequency (53%); expected more convenient treatment procedures (53%), and better efficacy and safety (93%). Patients preferred efficacy over safety when choosing new therapies in both survey (58%) and interviews (73%). However, 56% and 57% of patients aged ≥ 60 years preferred safety over efficacy in survey and interviews, respectively.

Conclusions: Although physician provided sufficient disease information, about half of the patients expressed difficulty in understanding the information, suggesting an urgent need for patient-friendly medical communications. Patients preferred oral treatment, expected more convenient procedures, and preferred efficacy over safety when choosing new therapies. These results would be helpful to improve design of CT for patients with MM and overcome barriers to CT participation.