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Early mortality in multiple myeloma

Leukemia volume 29, pages 1616–1618 (2015)Cite this article

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The life expectancy of patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) in the US has improved substantially over the last two decades, a phenomenon affecting predominantly, but not exclusively, younger patients.1 This improvement in survival has been attributed to the broader use of autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation (AHPCT)2 and increasing availability of novel drugs both in the newly diagnosed and relapsed setting,1 as well as improved supportive care. The impact of these interventions in early mortality (EM, henceforth defined as death in the first year after the diagnosis) is less well known.

A recent single-center report has indicated improvement in EM over the last decade in a large-volume, tertiary MM center.3 At the population level, the frequency of EM and the magnitude of its reduction over time are not well described.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    L J Costa

  2. Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    W I Gonsalves & S K Kumar

Authors
  1. L J Costa
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  2. W I Gonsalves
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  3. S K Kumar
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Correspondence to L J Costa.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

This study is presented at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, USA on 06 December, 2014.

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Costa, L., Gonsalves, W. & Kumar, S. Early mortality in multiple myeloma. Leukemia 29, 1616–1618 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2015.33

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