Long-term follow-up results of a European study indicate that an autologous stem cell transplant followed by a “mini” donor stem cell transplant may be more effective than one or two autologous stem cell transplants in multiple myeloma patients.

“The results show that [“mini”] donor stem cell transplantation was superior to autologous stem cell transplantation concerning relapse rates and long-term progression-free survival and overall survival,” said Dr. Gösta Gahrton of the Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden and one of the study authors.

“The results have strengthened the role of this type of treatment …

Results of a recent small Phase 2 study conducted in the Netherlands suggest that Revlimid maintenance therapy improves responses in multiple myeloma patients receiving “mini” donor stem cell transplants. However, the study authors also observed a rapid onset of graft-versus-host disease in these patients after the start of Revlimid treatment.

Based on these findings, the study authors recommended against Revlimid maintenance therapy for myeloma patients receiving “mini” donor stem cell transplants.

“Acute graft-versus-host disease is a life-threatening complication after donor stem cell transplantation, and our primary aim of the article was to …

Donor stem cell transplantation may be an effective treatment for myeloma patients with certain chromosomal abnormalities, according to a recent retrospective analysis of patient data conducted in France.

In particular, the analysis showed that patients with a high risk for poor prognosis - those with the chromosomal abnormalities del(17p), t(4;14), or t(14;16) - achieved similar outcomes after receiving a donor stem cell transplant as patients without these abnormalities.

“Our retrospective analysis indicates for the first time that [donor stem cell transplantation] might overcome the poor impact of del(17p),” said the study’s lead …

Interim results of a Phase 3 trial show no statistically significant differ­ences in relapse and overall survival rates between multiple myeloma patients who received a donor stem cell transplant as their second transplant compared to patients receiving two sequential transplants with their own stem cells.

Patients who received a donor transplant had an increased risk of death and other serious side effects, which outweighed the therapeutic benefits of the procedure.

The results of the trial were presented yesterday by Dr. Amrita Krishnan from the City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, California, at the American Society of …

The International Myeloma Working Group, a group of leading myeloma specialists, recently published a report establishing recommendations regarding the use of donor stem cell transplantation as a treatment option for multiple myeloma. The myeloma experts came to the conclusion that due to the risks associated with donor stem cell transplantation and limited data supporting its efficacy, it should only be recommended to multiple myeloma patients during clinical trials.

Over the past decade, the life expectancy of multiple myeloma patients has improved. Currently, most multiple myeloma patients are projected to live 7 to …

The results of a recent study suggest that donor stem cell transplants may not be necessary as part of first line therapy for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. These findings were presented at the recent European Hematology Association (EHA) meeting held in Barcelona, Spain.

Despite its frequent use in the treatment of multiple myeloma, stem cell transplantation remains a risky procedure with many possible complications.

Patients can either receive their own stem cells during this procedure (autologous stem cell transplant) or receive the stem cells from a healthy donor (allogeneic stem cell …

Blood cancer patients who are treated with allogeneic cell transplants are less likely to experience severe acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) if their donors take statins, a commonly-used class of cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to a study published in the journal Blood in December. Because they also found that statins don’t reduce the therapeutic effects of the transplant, the authors of the study suggested that statins may be an effective preventative treatment for acute GVHD.

Allogeneic transplants “may very well” increase in popularity after the Blood study’s data are confirmed by clinical trials, wrote …