The composition of autologous blood grafts after cryopreservation, post-transplant hematological recovery up to 1 year and immune recovery up to 6 months as well as outcome was analyzed in 87 patients with multiple myeloma (MM). The patients receiving added plerixafor due to poor mobilization (11%) were compared to those mobilized with G-CSF or cyclophosphamide (CY) plus G-CSF. The use of plerixafor was found to significantly affect the graft composition as there was a significantly higher proportion of the more primitive CD34+ cells, higher number of T and B lymphocytes as well as NK cells in the grafts of patients who received also plerixafor. The hematological recovery after auto-SCT was comparable between the groups. The recovery of CD3+CD4+ T cells was faster in plerixafor mobilized patients at 1 and 3 months post-transplant. There were no significant differences in progression-free (PFS) or overall survival (OS) according to the plerixafor use.
Keywords: Multiple myeloma; autologous stem cell transplantation; graft composition; hematological recovery; immune recovery; outcome; plerixafor.