Efficacy and safety of intravenous daratumumab-based treatments for AL amyloidosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Intravenous daratumumab (DARA IV) has been increasingly used in the treatment of amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis. However, the outcomes for patients administered with DARA IV have not been aggregated. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the efficacy and safety of DARA IV for AL amyloidosis. METHODS: We searched Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science up to 17 June 2021. Response rates and survival rates, and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled and calculated using a fixed-effects model. RESULTS: Thirty studies (5 cohort studies and 25 single-arm studies) with 997 patients were included. In patients receiving DARA IV-based treatments, very good partial response or better response rate, complete response rate, very good partial response rate, partial response rate and overall response rate were 66% (95% CI, 62–69%), 30% (95% CI, 23–36%), 40% (95% CI, 33–46%), 17% (95% CI, 14–21%), and 77% (95% CI, 73–80%), respectively. Cardiac and renal responses were 41% (95% CI, 34–49%) and 43% (95% CI, 32–54%), respectively. 58% (95% CI, 49–66%) of patients achieved PFS one year or longer. 2.5% (range, 1–10.0%) of patients experienced grade 3 or 4 adverse events, of which the most common adverse event was lymphocytopenia (range, 13.6–25.0%). CONCLUSION: This study supports the efficacy and safety of DARA IV for the treatment of patients with AL amyloidosis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-022-02635-6.