Introduction: Dialysis-dependent (DD) multiple myeloma patients (MM) have a poor prognosis and high tumour burden, thus may benefit from autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (auto-PBSCT), however, these patients have an increased risk of toxicity.
Aims: To evaluate the outcomes (toxicity, PFS, OS) of high dose therapy followed by auto-PBSCT during an observational study and after propensity score matching.
Patients and methods: Between 2004-2015, 24 DD patients, (aged 38-67 years), ISS 3, treated with auto-PBSCT, requiring dialysis at diagnosis and auto-PBSCT were evaluated, matched and compared to 55 normal renal function MM patients (NRF) with ISS 3 for outcomes of interest.
Results: In DD patients compared to NRF patients risk of mucositis (88% vs 55%), infection (79% vs 51%), parenteral nutrition (50% vs 24%), diarrhoea (71% vs 38%), prolonged duration of hospitalisation (medians: 30 vs 21 days), requirement for RBC transfusion (83% vs 36%) were significantly higher, while no significant differences were found in post-transplant response (ORR; 75% vs 87%), 5-year PFS (36% vs 20%) and OS (39% vs 50%). Subgroup analyses based on toxicity supported these results.
Conclusions: Despite the increased risk of toxicity in DD patients these events do not significantly affect both the PFS and OS.
Keywords: bone marrow transplantation; multiple myeloma; plasma cell neoplasms; transplantation.
© 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.