Response improvement rather than response status after 1st ASCT is a significant prognostic factor for survival benefit from tandem compared to single ASCT in multiple myeloma patients

High-dose chemotherapy, followed by an autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has served as a successful treatment for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients for more than 30 years [1,2]. Tandem ASCT was introduced in the 1990 ’s and showed promising results compared to conventional chemotherapy in terms of prolonged event-free and overall survival (EFS and OS, respectively) [3–5]. Since then, several studies compared single and tandem ASCT and showed partially contradictory results. Some authors suggested a superiori ty of the tandem compared to single ASCT in terms of better EFS, prolonged relapse-free survival (RFS), progression free survival (PFS), and OS [6–8], others claimed a non-inferiority of the single versus tandem ASCT with regard to EFS, PFS, and OS [9,10].
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - Category: Hematology Authors: Source Type: research