Analysis of clinical features, treatment response, and prognosis among 61 elderly newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients: a single-center report

Background: We identified the clinical features of 61 cases of multiple myeloma (MM) patients over 65 years and analyzed the treatment and prognosis of the era of new drugs in elderly patients. Methods: We identified 61 newly diagnosed symptomatic multiple myeloma (NDMM) among elderly Chinese patients more than 65 years old diagnosed from 2006 to 2012. Results: Of the 205 consecutive MM patients whom we reviewed, 61 (29.76 %) cases were NDMM patients aged more than 65 years and the others were younger than 65 years old. Among them, 40 (65.6 %) cases were in end-stage (ISS stage III); meanwhile, 19 (31.2 %) cases of them had MM with extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP), observed in 42.1 % patients at diagnosis, and the top three incidence of position were spinal canal, pleural, and soft tissue. In the whole column, the median follow-up was 38 months and median age was 72.5 years. Patients received bortezomib- or thalidomide-containing regimens as initial therapy. Comparing the two treatment groups, the complete remission (CR)/near-complete remission (nCR) rate was significantly higher in the bortezomib- containing regimens (61.5 vs. 18.18 %, P = 0.001), no difference in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Patients of age over 75 years had shorter OS than those of age over 65 years (49 vs. 24 months, P = 0.001). The patients with EMP had shorter OS than those without EMP in two age groups (32 vs. 42 and 15 vs. 24 months, P = 0.017 and 0.024, respectively). Conclusions: The results highlight that patients over 75 years and MM with EMP have a poorer outcome. While the CR rate is higher in bortezomib-containing regimens, no significant improvement is noted in respect to the survival outcomes; also, it cannot overcome the negative influence on survival of age and MM with EMP in elderly patients.