The efficacy and safety of second salvage autologous transplantation in myeloma patients

Despite the availability of many novel therapies for multiple myeloma, it remains an incurable disease with relapse fated in almost all patients. In the era of modern agents, second autologous stem cell transplantation still holds its role in patients relapsing after first-line autologous transplant. The authors reviewed a single-center experience with a second auto-SCT for relapsed multiple myeloma. Thirty patients had received a salvage auto-SCT at the institution. The median follow-up after diagnosis was 86 months, and the median time between transplants was 59.1 months. Response before second ASCT was the following: CR – 11 cases, VGPR – 9 cases, PR – 10 cases. Most patients received reduced dose (140 mg/m2) of melphalan as a conditioning regimen for the second auto-SCT. Treatment-related mortality was 3%. With a median follow-up time of 34 months after the second transplant, median progression-free survival was 24 months. The median PFS in the patients achieving CR or VGPR at day 100 after the second transplantation was 32 months. By 15 months, all patients achieved only partial remission progressed, with a median PFS of 8.5 months. During the follow-up period, no MDS or AML developed, and the frequency of second malignancy was also low, 3%. In conclusion, second autologous stem cell transplantation is a well-tolerated and effective treatment option for relapsed multiple myeloma in selected patients, though with a shorter PFS than in first remission.