[Clinical characteristics of young multiple myeloma patients: a single-center analysis of 30 patients].

Abstract

Because multiple myeloma is rare in young people, there are fewer reports on the same. Thus, its clinical aspects and prognosis remain unelucidated. We retrospectively evaluated 30 patients with multiple myeloma aged ≤ 45 years at diagnosis. We divided them into three groups based on their cytogenetic risks: standard risk (SR), high risk (HR), and unknown risk. The frequency of HR patients was 36.6%, the highest of the three groups, unlike the previous report. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 35 months (SR vs. HR, 46 vs. 29 months), and the median overall survival (OS) was not reached (NR) (SR vs. HR, NR vs. 82 months). The OS was significantly worse, and the PFS also appeared inferior in HR patients. The International Staging System score was not associated with OS. Thus, young patients with myeloma appeared to have a higher frequency of HR features, suggesting that instead of age, the cytogenetic risk was a significant prognostic factor.