The estimated survival of the cohort 20 years after transplantation was 80.4% (95% CI, 78.1% to 82.6%). During 22,923 person-years of follow-up, 357 deaths occurred. Mortality rates remained four to nine times higher than the expected population rate for at least 30 years after transplantation, resulting in an estimated life expectancy 30% lower than that of the general population, regardless of current age. In order of ranking, the main causes of excess deaths were second malignancies and recurrent disease, followed by infections, chronic graft-versus-host disease, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases.
Stem cells may be used later to help the person recover from the next stage of intensive chemotherapy. In addition to helping the body recover from intensive treatment, these cells can also reduce the chance that new cancer cells will grow back in the bone marrow. Read on to learn more about how well stem cell transplants work for multiple myeloma, what the procedure looks like, and more. This procedure involves harvesting stem cells, giving chemotherapy, and transplanting healthy cells.
About a day or two after conditioning ends, you'll receive your stem cell transplant through CVC. Being diagnosed with multiple myeloma and choosing to have a stem cell transplant can be overwhelming at times. To help assess whether you are a good candidate for a stem cell transplant, your doctor may order a variety of tests to check your general health and whether your body can cope with the transplant procedure. Many clinics have an upper age limit of 60 or 65 for stem cell transplants because younger patients tend to have fewer complications than older patients.
Transplants using cells from close relatives have the highest success rate, so these cells are used whenever possible. Stem cell transplants can help with leukemia by giving the body the ability to produce healthy blood cells. Stem cell transplants are used to replace bone marrow stem cells that are destroyed during chemotherapy and radiation therapy. While receiving a stem cell transplant may cause multiple myeloma to go into remission, it is not a cure.
Doctors collect stem cells by inserting a hollow needle into one of the donor's bones to reach the bone marrow. Before you have a stem cell transplant, you'll have had other types of treatment for multiple myeloma. Bone marrow transplants (also known as stem cell transplants) are considered life-saving procedures for certain types of cancer (multiple myeloma, acute leukemia, and advanced lymphoma, to name a few). However, it's important to know that while a stem cell transplant can cause multiple myeloma to go into remission for a period of time, most people eventually relapse.
