Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation—An Important Step Toward Improving Survival in Multiple Myeloma

2010 ◽  
Vol 06 ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Ajay Gupta ◽  

Conventional chemotherapy has been used in the treatment of multiple myeloma; however, the development of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) represented a major advance in the therapy. Complete response (CR) rates of 40–45% were seen and this translated into improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in some studies. As a result, ASCT is the standard of care in eligible patients and can be carried out with low treatment-related mortality. The introduction of newer agents such as thalidomide, lenalidomide, bortezomib, and liposomal doxorubicin into induction regimens has resulted in higher CR rates, very good partial response rates (VGPR), and improvements in the ease of administration. These drugs have also proved useful in patients with adverse cytogenetics. Recent trials suggest that this has translated into improvements in response rates post-ASCT. There is a suggestion that patients achieving CR/near-CR (nCR) or VGPR after induction therapy should be placed on maintenance and ASCT could then be used as a treatment strategy at relapse; however, all of these trends await confirmation from further trials. Tandem transplants have been used to augment the results obtained with ASCT and have demonstrated their utility in patients who achieved only a partial response or stable disease in response to the first transplant and patients with adverse cytogenetics. Incorporation of bortezomib along with melphalan into the conditioning regimen has also been tried. It is hoped that recent advances in therapy will contribute greatly to improved survival.

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. CMO.S16835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Byrne ◽  
Donya Salmasinia ◽  
Helen Leather ◽  
Christopher R. Cogle ◽  
Amy Davis ◽  
...  

In this prospective phase II clinical trial, multiple myeloma (MM) patients were randomized to receive a second (tandem) autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) based on whether they achieved a partial response or worse (≤PR) following initial ASCT (ASCT1). Patients who achieved a very good partial response or better (≥VGPR) had salvage ASCT at relapse. Seventy-five patients received conditioning therapy and ASCT1. A total of 44 patients (59%) achieved ≥VGPR, whereas 31 patients entered ≤PR and were offered tandem ASCT. In all, 20 patients agreed to tandem ASCT. Demographic and clinical characteristics were similar between the two cohorts except for median lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) ( P = 0.0141) and percentage of marrow plasma cells before ASCT1 ( P = 0.0047), both lower in the ≥VGPR group. Intent to treat analysis showed that patients who achieved ≥VGPR to ASCT1 had a trend toward improved progression-free survival (PFS) (37 vs. 26 months, P = 0.078) and superior overall survival (OS) (not reached vs. 50 months, P = 0.0073). Patients with ≤PR who declined tandem transplantation had shortened PFS (20 vs. 28 months, P = 0.05) but similar OS (53 vs. 57.5 months, P = 0.29) compared to those who received it. Thus, a favorable clinical response to ASCT1 identifies a low-risk group with superior long-term prognosis despite similar PFS.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-48
Author(s):  
Jeevan Kumar ◽  
Sachin Minhas ◽  
Kamini Khillan ◽  
Manorama Bhargava ◽  
Shyam Aggarwal

Background: The use of novel agents for induction prior to autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has considerably improved the complete response (CR) rate in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. There are very few studies from the developing countries on the use of novel agents followed by ASCT.Aims and Objectives: The current study was aimed for retrospective evaluation of the efficacy and response rates of induction with bortezomib (Velcade) plus dexamethasone (VD regimen) followed by ASCT in Indian patients.Materials and Methods: Ten patients with newly diagnosed, symptomatic MM who had received four cycles of VD induction before stem cell collection were evaluated. High dose melphalan was given for conditioning followed by stem cell transfusion. Thalidomide or lenalidomide was used as post-transplantation maintenance treatment.Results: Post VD induction, the overall response rate (ORR) was 90% including 20% CR, 40% very good partial response (VGPR), and 30% partial response (PR). Post ASCT, the ORR was 100%, including 80% CR and 20% VGPR. The 5-year overall survival and progression free survival rates were 65.6% and 57.1%, respectively.Conclusions: The VD induction regimen was effective and well tolerated in this retrospective analysis of Indian patients with newly diagnosed MM. It significantly improved the post-induction and post-transplant response rates without affecting stem cell collection.Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.7(4) 2016 44-48 


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 529-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin Martinez-Lopez ◽  
Joan Blade ◽  
María-Victoria Mateos ◽  
Carlos Grande ◽  
Adrián Alegre ◽  
...  

AbstractFor establishing the true effect of different response categories in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) treated with autologous stem cell transplantation, we evaluated, after a median follow-up of 153 months, 344 patients with MM who received a transplant between 1989 and 1998. Overall survival (OS) at 12 years was 35% in complete response (CR) patients, 22% in near complete response (nCR), 16% in very good partial response (VGPR), and 16% in partial response (PR) groups. Significant differences in OS and progression-free survival were found between CR and nCR groups (P = .01 and P = .002, respectively), between CR and VGPR groups (P = .0001 and P = .003), or between CR and PR groups (P = .003 and P = < 10−5); no differences were observed between the nCR and VGPR groups (P = .2 and P = .9) or between these groups and the PR group (P = .1 and P = .8). A landmark study found a plateau phase in OS after 11 years; 35% patients in the CR group and 11% in the nCR+VGPR+PR group are alive at 17 years; 2 cases had relapsed in the nCR+VGPR+PR group. In conclusion, MM achieving CR after autologous stem cell transplantation is a central prognostic factor. The relapse rate is low in patients with > 11 years of follow-up, possibly signifying a cure for patients in CR.


2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e19532-e19532
Author(s):  
Taner Demirer ◽  
Guldane Cengiz Seval ◽  
Selami Kocak Toprak ◽  
Sinem Civriz Bozdag ◽  
Meltem Kurt Yuksel ◽  
...  

e19532 Background: High dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) significantly prolong survival for patients with multiple myeloma (MM). The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of hemoglobin (Hgb) and serum creatinine (Crea) values at the time of transplantation on the overall outcome of patients with multiple myeloma treated at our transplant center. Material & Methods: This analysis included 247 consecutive patients who underwent ASCT for MM between 2010-2016. Hemoglobin was grouped as low or high relative to their sample median. Patients were also stratified according to serum Crea value at the time of transplantation ( < 2 or ³2 mg/dl). Results: The median age was 57 (29-75) years and most patients were male (n = 151, 61.1%), IgG subtype (n = 124, 50.2%), and ISS stage 3 (n = 122, 49.4%). The interval from the time of diagnosis to ASCT was median 7 months and median follow-up from ASCT was 49 months (range, 3-198 months). The most commonly induction regimens included VAD (vincristine, doxorubicin and dexamethasone) and VCD (bortezomib, cyclophosphamide, dexamethasone), respectively. Since maintenance was not an approved treatment in myeloma most patients did not receive any. For the entire cohort, the median Hgb and Crea were 11.5 g/dL and 0.9 mg/dL respectively. No difference in progression free survival (PFS) was observed between a lower and higher Hgb (82 vs. 81 months, p = 0.96). However, the median PFS was significantly longer in patients with a lower Crea compared to those with a higher Crea (83 vs. 48 months, p = 0.01). Patients with both a lower hemoglobin and higher Crea experienced shorter PFS compared to those with a higher hemoglobin and lower Crea (45 vs. 82 months, p < 0.001). We failed to demonstrate the impact of creatinin levels on time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment. There were no differences in OS according to lower vs. higher Hgb (58 vs. 52 months; p = 0.29, respectively) but in higher crea cohort worse OS was observed (41 months vs. 57 months; p = 0.02, respectively). Conclusions: We demonstrate that hemoglobin and creatinine represent important determinants of clinical outcomes after ASCT. A lower hemoglobin and higher creatinine, individually and when combined, were associated with shorter PFS. Therefore, further studies of larger randomized cohorts are required to clarify the impact of pre-transplant Hgb and Crea levels on ASCT outcomes.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 119 (4) ◽  
pp. 940-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Neben ◽  
Henk M. Lokhorst ◽  
Anna Jauch ◽  
Uta Bertsch ◽  
Thomas Hielscher ◽  
...  

Abstract In patients with multiple myeloma (MM), risk stratification by chromosomal abnormalities may enable a more rational selection of therapeutic approaches. In the present study, we analyzed the prognostic value of 12 chromosomal abnormalities in a series of 354 MM patients treated within the HOVON-65/GMMG-HD4 trial. Because of the 2-arm design of the study, we were able to analyze the effect of a bortezomib-based treatment before and after autologous stem cell transplantation (arm B) compared with standard treatment without bortezomib (arm A). For allanalyzed chromosomal aberrations, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were at least equal or superior in the bortezomib arm compared with the standard arm. Strikingly, patients with del(17p13) benefited the most from the bortezomib-containing treatment: the median PFS in arm A was 12.0 months and in arm B it was 26.2 months (P = .024); the 3 year-OS for arm A was 17% and for arm B it was 69% (P = .028). After multivariate analysis, del(17p13) was an independent predictor for PFS (P < .0001) and OS (P < .0001) in arm A, whereas no statistically significant effect on PFS (P = .28) or OS (P = .12) was seen in arm B. In conclusion, the adverse impact of del(17p13) on PFS and OS could be significantly reduced by bortezomib-based treatment, suggesting that long-term administration of bortezomib should be recommended for patients carrying del(17p13). This trial is registered at the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register as ISRCTN64455289.


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