Publication Date:
2018-11-29
Description:
Advances in the management of multiple myeloma (MM) led to a significant prolongation of overall survival (OS), mainly of the younger patients; almost 10% of them experience more than 10-year OS. Although long progression-free survival (PFS) correlates with extended OS, there is very limited information for the characteristics of patients who manage to be progression-free for a long period after first-line therapy. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the characteristics of patients who achieved at least 7-year of PFS after frontline therapy and compare them with those of all other patients who were treated in a single center during the same time period. Between January 1994 and December 2010, 406 consecutive newly diagnosed MM patients received first line therapy in the Department of Clinical Therapeutics (Athens, Greece). All patients had symptomatic disease, based on the IMWG criteria of that period (at least one CRAB symptom to start anti-myeloma therapy). Thirty-six (8.8%; 23M/13F) patients achieved a PFS of at least 7 years (long PFS group) after frontline treatment. The median PFS of these 36 patients is 10 years, while the other patients had a median PFS of 22 months. Long PFS patients were younger (median age 56 vs 68 years; p
Print ISSN:
0006-4971
Electronic ISSN:
1528-0020
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine