Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Multiple Myeloma

Phyllis McKiernan, a nurse practitioner at John Theurer Cancer Center, Hackensack Medical Center, discusses the outcomes of a study investigating autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in elderly patients with multiple myeloma.

This study included 496 patients who underwent ASCT for multiple myeloma over a 10-year period. Of the 496 patients, 24 patients were over the age of 75.

McKiernan notes that elderly patients are typically considered to be those who are over the age of 65; however, many patients undergo transplantation at an even older age. Thus, investigators wanted to follow the patients who were over the age of 75 to determine what influenced the course of their transplantation and outcomes.

Investigators discovered that patients over the age of 75 who underwent transplant experienced no difference in overall survival and no difference in progression-free survival when compared with patients under the age of 75.