bendamustine + dexamethasone + elotuzumab

Bendamustine + dexamethasone + elotuzumab is an investigational triplet regimen combining an alkylating chemotherapy agent, a glucocorticoid, and a SLAMF7‑targeting monoclonal antibody for the treatment of multiple myeloma. Bendamustine is a multifunctional nitrogen mustard with a benzimidazole ring that acts primarily as a DNA alkylator, inducing DNA crosslinks and strand breaks that trigger apoptosis in proliferating lymphoid and plasma cells. Dexamethasone is a synthetic glucocorticoid that exerts lympholytic and anti‑myeloma effects while also providing antiemetic and anti-inflammatory activity; it is routinely used in myeloma combination regimens to enhance cytotoxicity and mitigate infusion-related reactions. Elotuzumab is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody targeting the cell-surface glycoprotein SLAMF7 on myeloma and natural killer cells, where it both directly activates NK cells and promotes antibody‑dependent cellular cytotoxicity against SLAMF7‑expressing myeloma cells.[4][6][8][10] Together, this regimen is designed to couple direct DNA‑damaging cytotoxicity with immunostimulatory killing of myeloma cells, and has been explored experimentally as an option in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, although it is not an approved fixed‑dose combination and clinical data are limited compared with established elotuzumab triplets such as elotuzumab + lenalidomide + dexamethasone or elotuzumab + pomalidomide + dexamethasone.[1][2][4][6][8][10][15][16][17]