The Johnson & Johnson drug Darzalex showed promise in helping keep a precancerous condition from progressing to the blood cancer multiple myeloma for those at high risk, according to results from a trial presented at the American Society of Hematology meeting in San Diego.

Darzalex, a monoclonal antibody that targets a protein found on the surface of myeloma cells known as CD38, significantly reduced patients’ risk of developing the blood cancer and improved their survival in an international late-stage trial.

"These results are a major advancement in the treatment of high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma," study leader S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota said in a statement.

In smoldering multiple myeloma, abnormal plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow. As the abnormal cells and certain proteins accumulate, a patient's risk for cancer increases.

In the trial of 390 patients with high-risk SMM, participants received either Darzalex, known chemically as daratumumab, or active monitoring.

After a median follow-up of 65.2 months, researchers saw a 51% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death in patients receiving daratumumab, according to a report published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

At five years, 63% of patients in the daratumumab group remained progression-free, compared to 41% in the active monitoring group. Survival at five years was 93% in the daratumumab group versus 87% for monitoring.

"For the first time, we have a treatment option that can significantly delay or prevent the progression to active disease, improving the lives of patients and offering them a chance at a longer, healthier future," Rajkumar said.