title: Very low toxicity and good quality of life in 48 elderly patients autotransplanted for hematological malignancies: a single center experience.
abstract: Between May 1994 and May 2000, we autotransplanted 48 consecutive patients, 21 females and 27 males aged over 60 years (range: 60-78, median: 63). Sixteen patients had multiple myeloma (MM), 14 high-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (HGNHL), six low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (LGNHL), nine acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), one Hodgkin's disease (HD) and one breast cancer; the performance status (WHO) was 0-1. Seventeen patients were in 1st CR (35.4%) and one in 2nd CR (2.1%), 25 in PR (52.1%), while five patients had been transplanted with progressive disease (10.4%); seven patients with MM received a double transplant. Patients received high-dose therapy including melphalan alone (13) or associated with other drugs (26), busulfan-cyclophosphamide (three), BEAM (11) and TBI (two). All patients took a median of 11 (range: 8-25) days to reach neutrophils >500/microl, 13 (range: 9-83) days to reach platelets > 20,000/microl and 17 (range: 11-83) days to reach platelets > 50,000/microl. Hematological toxicity, hospital stay and supportive care did not differ from those of a cohort of younger patients. At present, 31 patients are alive (14 in CR, five in PR, five in PD and seven in relapse) and 16 died from PD at a median follow-up of 37 months (1-67). Only one patient died from transplant-related toxicity. Quality of life, evaluated using a QLQ-C30 questionnaire in 25 patients at day +90, was good. In our experience PBPC mobilization and transplantation is feasible in patients aged > or = 60 years and the toxicity of this procedure is acceptable, with an early transplant-related mortality of 1.8%; therefore patients with hematological malignancies potentially curable with high-dose therapy (HDT) should also be candidates for HDT.
authors.affiliation: Hematology Department, University of Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Capelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montanari
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brunori
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Massidda
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Poloni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lucesole
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Centurioni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Candela
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Masia
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tonnini
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Leoni
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D006085:Graft Survival; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015996:Survival Rate; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome