Objective: To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with the diagnosis of multiple myeloma (MM) and to analyse the outcome of different regimens for the treatment of MM.
Methods: The study reviewed 332 MM cases diagnosed within the period from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2002. These patients were tracked via their records to a total period of three years.
Results: First-line treatment: Totally 332 patients were included, among them 325 (97.9%) patients received chemotherapy and 7 (2.1%) patients received stem cell transplantation (SCT); Second-line treatment: 197 patients were included, among them 190 (96.5%) patients received chemotherapy and 7 (3.6%) patients received SCT; Third-line treatment: 92 patients were included,among them 88 (95.7%) patients received chemotherapy and 4 (4.4%) patients received SCT. Major adverse effects were follows: severe infection 19.3%, severe anaemia 19.3%, phlebothrombosis 1.2% , thrombocytopenia 16.9%, fever associated with neutropenia 18.1%.
Conclusions: Some curative effects can be achieved by using traditional treatment plans to treat patients suffering from MM, but new methods are expected to improve the prognosis.