Long-term prognostic significance of response in multiple myeloma after stem cell transplantation

For establishing the true impact of different response categories in multiple myeloma patients treated with autologous stem cell transplantation we evaluated, after a median follow-up of 153 months, 344 MM patients transplanted between 1989 and 1998. OS at 12 years were 35% in Complete Response (CR) patients, 22% in Near Complete Response (nCR), 16% in Very Good Partial Response (VGPR), and 16% in Partial Response (PR) groups. Significant differences in OS and PFS were found between CR and nCR groups ( P =.01 and .002, respectively), between CR and VGPR ( P = .0001 and .003) or between CR and PR ( P = .003 and 11 years of follow-up, possibly signifying a cure for patients in CR.