The Characteristics of Korean Elderly Multiple Myeloma Patients Aged 80 Years or over

Overview

Journal Korean J Intern Med

Date 2025 Jan 8

PMID 39778530

Authors

Sang Hwan Lee

Hee-Jeong Cho

Joon Ho Moon

Ji Yoon Jung

Min Kyoung Kim

Mi Hwa Heo

Young Rok Do

Yunhwi Hwang

Sung Hwa Bae

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background/aims: Multiple myeloma (MM) predominantly affects elderly individuals, but studies on older patients with MM are limited. The clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with MM aged 80 years or over were retrospectively analyzed.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study was conducted to investigate the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes of patients aged 80 years or over who were newly diagnosed with MM at five academic hospitals in Daegu, Korea, between 2010 and 2019.

Results: A total of 127 patients with a median age of 83 years (range, 80-93 yr) were enrolled: 52 (40.9%) with Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) > 2, 84 (66.1%) with International Staging System (ISS) stage III disease, and 93 (73.2%) with a Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) > 4. Chemotherapy was administered to 86 patients (67.7%). The median overall survival was 9.3 months. Overall survival was significantly associated with ECOG PS > 2 (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.43-3.59), ISS stage III (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.18-3.34), and chemotherapy (HR 0.34, 95% CI 0.21-0.55). There was no statistically significant difference in event-free survival according to the type of anti-myeloma chemotherapy administered. The early mortality (EM) rate was 28.3%.

Conclusion: Even in patients with MM aged 80 years or over, chemotherapy can result in better survival outcomes than supportive care. Patients aged ≥ 80 years should not be excluded from chemotherapy based on age alone. However, reducing EM in elderly patients with newly diagnosed MM remains challenging.

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