UMMS Affiliation
Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Publication Date
2014-11-24
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Hematology | Neoplasms | Oncology
Abstract
Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) is the standard of care in transplant-eligible multiple myeloma patients and is associated with significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS), complete remission rates (CR), and overall survival (OS). However, majority of patients eventually relapse, with a median PFS of around 36 months. Relapses are harder to treat and prognosis declines with each relapse. Achieving and maintaining "best response" to initial therapy is the ultimate goal of first-line treatment and sustained CR is a powerful surrogate for extended survival especially in high-risk multiple myeloma. ASCT is often followed by consolidation/maintenance phase to deepen and/or maintain the response achieved by induction and ASCT. Novel agents like thalidomide, lenalidomide, and bortezomib have been used as single agents or in combination. Thalidomide use has been associated with a meaningful improvement in PFS and EFS, however, with substantial side effects. Data with lenalidomide maintenance after-ASCT is favorable, but the optimal duration of lenalidomide maintenance is still unclear. Bortezomib use has been associated with superior outcomes, predominantly in high-risk myeloma patients. Combination regimens utilizing a proteasome inhibitor (i.e., bortezomib) with an immunomodulatory drug (thalidomide or lenalidomide) have provided the best outcomes. This review article serves as a review of the best available evidence in post-ASCT approaches in multiple myeloma.
Rights and Permissions
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI of Published Version
10.1155/2014/652395
Source
Adv Hematol. 2014;2014:652395. doi: 10.1155/2014/652395. Epub 2014 Nov 24. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Advances in hematology
Related Resources
PubMed ID
25525435
Repository Citation
Al-Mansour Z, Ramanathan M. (2014). Post-Autologous (ASCT) Stem Cell Transplant Therapy in Multiple Myeloma. Open Access Articles. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/652395. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/oapubs/2527
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.