Benefits of autologous stem cell transplant for elderly myeloma patients in the last quarter of life

Though survival outcomes have improved dramatically over the last few decades in newly diagnosed myeloma patients, elderly patients have not yielded the same magnitude of benefit as evidenced by higher rates of reported myeloma-related deaths in patients over the age of 75. This is of particularly importance given this cohort comprises a large proportion of myeloma patients with the median age of diagnosis being 70 years. One contributor to this discrepancy is reduced utilization of high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplant (HDT/ASCT) in this population due to concerns for increased toxicity and safety.
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - Category: Hematology Authors: Source Type: research