Results from a recent study conducted at the Mayo Clinic suggest that the de­gree of complete response a multiple myeloma patient achieves fol­low­ing a stem cell transplant may affect their survival.

In particular, the Mayo researchers found that the five-year overall survival rate was nearly twice as high for patients who achieved a stringent com­plete re­sponse (80 percent), compared to those who achieved a com­plete response (53 percent) or near com­plete response (47 percent).

However, the researchers point out that the achievement of a stringent complete response is only one of many …