Autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma using oral versus IV melphalan

Autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation is the therapy of choice for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) patients younger than 70 years old. Between August 1993 and November 2004, 54 patients with MM were autografted after conditioning with high-dose oral melphalan 140 mg/m(2) in combination with etoposide and carmustine (28 patients) or with high-dose melphalan 200 mg/m(2) I.V. (26 patients). The oral and IV melphalan groups were comparable. There were no significant differences in disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) between the groups; however, in patients transplanted in remission, OS and DFS were better in the I.V. melphalan group. Four good-prognostic factors were identified: interval between diagnosis and transplant < 18 months, number of prior chemotherapy lines >= 2, remission status (complete or partial), and the use of I.V. melphalan. In conclusion, I.V. melphalan is the therapy of choice for conditioning patients with MM who are in remission.