Stem Cell Transplantation in Individuals With Multiple Myeloma (BMT CTN 0102)

Multiple myeloma (MM), characterized by malignant plasma cell proliferation, bone destruction, and immunodeficiency, is a disease with a median age at diagnosis of approximately 65 years. It is responsible for about 1 percent of all cancer-related deaths in Western Countries. Conventional treatments with chemotherapy and radiation therapy are non-curative but improve quality of life and duration of survival. Attempts to cure myeloma through high-dose therapy followed by autografting or allografting have largely failed due to a combination of relapsed disease or transplant related mortality (TRM). High-dose therapy with autologous transplantation is safe and has low TRM (less than 5%), but is associated with a continuing and nearly universal risk of disease progression and relapse. Even so, autologous transplantation is superior to continued conventional chemotherapy. Recent data indicate that tandem autologous transplants are superior to a single procedure. Even with this approach, patients remain at risk of relapse and additional approaches are needed. DESIGN NARRATIVE: The overall study design is that of biologic assignment, based on the availability of an HLA-matched sibling, to one of two treatment strategies for MM patients. Patients without an HLA-matched sibling will undergo tandem autologous transplants. Patients with an HLA-matched sibling will undergo an autologous transplant followed by a non-myeloablative allogeneic transplant. In addition, the tandem autologous transplant recipients will be randomized to either observation or one year of maintenance therapy to begin following the second autologous transplant. The large number of MM patients without an HLA-matched sibling enables us to evaluate the role of maintenance therapy following tandem autologous transplants.