Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HCT) is considered a standard therapy for transplant-eligible patients with multiple myeloma, while allogeneic HCT (allo-HCT) is controversial. We retrospectively analyzed 765 patients with myeloma who underwent tandem transplantation between 1998 and 2012 using Japanese registry data. We evaluated the clinical outcomes of tandem auto-HCT (n = 676) and auto/allo-HCT (n = 89). To adjust for a selection bias, we compared overall survival (OS) between the two groups by a propensity score analysis. The probability of OS at six years was 58.5% for the tandem auto-HCT group and 54.4% for the tandem auto/allo-HCT group (p = 0.47). In a matched-pair analysis based on the propensity score, the difference in survival between the two groups was not statistically significant, although the survival curve appeared to reach a plateau beyond five years in the auto/allo group. Further strategies to reduce treatment-related mortality and enhance a graft-versus-myeloma effect are necessary to improve OS.
Keywords: Allogeneic transplantation; multiple myeloma; novel agents; propensity score analysis; tandem autologous transplantation.