Abstract
We compared the efficacy and toxicity of busulfan and melphalan (BUMEL) and those of high-dose melphalan (HDMEL) as conditioning regimens for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) through a propensity score-matched analysis. No significant difference in the complete response and overall response rate after ASCT was observed between BUMEL and HDMEL. After a median follow-up of 37.3 months in the BUMEL group and 50.8 months in the HDMEL group, the median progression-free survival was calculated to be 32.9 months and 25.2 months (p = 0.995). With respect to non-hematologic toxicities, infections were more frequently reported in the BUMEL group (p < 0.001). Three patients who received BUMEL developed veno-occlusive disease (VOD), and all of them recovered without administration of defibrotide. In conclusion, BUMEL is an effective alternative conditioning regimen in terms of efficacy, but attention should be paid to toxicities.
Ethical approval statement
This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital and was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Data availability statement
The dataset used in this study is available from the corresponding author upon request.