Aggressive blood cancer: Clinical trial of lenalidomide plus dexamethasone followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in multiple myeloma
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - 14:31
in Health & Medicine
A new transplantation technique, which uses a patient's own adult stem cells, has been a first-line treatment for patients who are newly diagnosed with certain blood cancers. Multiple myeloma is a cancer that attacks plasma cells, which protect the body against disease and infection. For patients under the age of 65 who survived four cycles of treatment, overall survival at three years was 94 percent with early stem cell transplantation, vs. 78 percent for those who continued to receive a drug regimen instead.