Regression of cardiac amyloid after autologous stem-cell transplantation.

Primary cardiac amyloid has a dismal prognosis and most treatments are experimental with highly variable results. Although autologous stem-cell transplant in conjunction with high-dose chemotherapy has yielded regression of amyloid in other body tissues, the presence of cardiac involvement contraindicates stem-cell transfer due to high treatment mortality. We describe the successful treatment of cardiac amyloid using autologous stem-cell transplantation and the resultant regression of the cardiac amyloid.