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Allografting

Attainment of at least a very good partial response after induction treatment is an important surrogate of longer survival for multiple myeloma

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 45, pages 1625–1630 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

The importance of achieving a very good partial response or better (⩾VGPR) after induction treatment of myeloma has traditionally only been discussed in the context of high-dose therapy with auto-SCT (HDT/auto-SCT). Of late, the advent of novel agents for induction treatment has resulted in improved CR and VGPR rates, which are comparable with those observed with HDT/auto-SCT. We show that in an unselected group of 179 myeloma patients with diverse baseline characteristics, and treated with different modern induction regimens within a single institution, the attainment of ⩾VGPR with or without HDT/auto-ASCT represents a major surrogate marker of better clinical outcomes. On the basis of a 1-year landmark survival analysis, patients achieving ⩾VGPR enjoy a significantly longer PFS, which translated to a longer OS. Superseding the adverse effects of advanced age, high International Staging System (ISS) stage, adverse cytogenetics and independent of the transplant status, the attainment of ⩾VGPR emerged as the single most significant predictor of long-term survival on multivariate analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Haematology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore

    D Tan, Z Lao, Y Loh, H J Ng, C Chuah, G C Wong, M Koh, Y C Linn, L C Lim, S L Tien, L H Lee, Y T Goh & W Hwang

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  1. D Tan
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Correspondence to D Tan.

Additional information

Presented in part at the 14th Congress of European Haematology Association, Berlin, Germany, June 2009 (Abstract 0960).

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Tan, D., Lao, Z., Loh, Y. et al. Attainment of at least a very good partial response after induction treatment is an important surrogate of longer survival for multiple myeloma. Bone Marrow Transplant 45, 1625–1630 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2010.25

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