Page 265 - Haematologica Vol. 107 - September 2022

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
all economic backgrounds, but uninsured patients or those with Medicaid had significantly lower overall sur- vival.19 Similar trends have been observed with in patients with NHL.20
This study has limitations such as retrospective design, small sample size, variability in minority proportion, and melphalan dosing discrepancy between the groups.
Our study is one of the few to demonstrate the safety of ASCT in patients >75 years old and the only study to evaluate ASCT in a predominantly minority elderly popu- lation. We did not find a statistically significant increase in 100-day transplant related mortality in patients > 75 years old compared to patients 55-65 years old. Older pa- tients and those younger than 65 years old appear to have comparable 5-year mortality.
Authors
Kateryna Fedorov,1 Tanim Jain,2 Kith Pradhan,3 Jennat Mustafa,1 Amanda Lombardo,1 Fariha Khatun,1 Felisha Joseph,1 Kailyn Gillick,1 Anjali Naik,1 Richard Elkind,1 Karen Fehn,1 Alyssa de Castro,4 Roy Browne,4 Michelly Abreu,1 Donika Binakaj,1 Monika Paroder,5 Carlo Palesi,5 Kira Gritsman,1 R. Alejandro Sica,1 Noah Kornblum,1 Aditi Shastri,1 Ioannis Mantzaris,1 Nishi Shah,1 Amit Verma,1 Ira Braunschweig1 and Mendel Goldfinger1
1Department of Oncology; 2Department of Medicine; 3Department of Epidemiology and Population Health; 4Department of Pharmacy and 5Department of Pathology, Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
Correspondence:
K. FEDOROV - KateFedorov@gmail.com
M. GOLDFINGER - mgoldfin@montefiore.org
References
1. Attal M, Harousseau JL, Stoppa AM, et al. A prospective, randomized trial of autologous bone marrow transplantation and chemotherapy in multiple myeloma. Intergroupe Francais du Myelome. N Engl J Med. 1996;335(2):91-97.
2. Cancer Stat Facts: Myeloma: National Cancer Institute; https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/mulmy.html
3. Cancer Stat Facts: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: National Cancer Institute; https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/nhl.html
4. Guerrero S, López-Cortés A, Indacochea A, et al. Analysis of racial/ethnic representation in select basic and applied cancer research studies. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):13978.
5. Ntanasis-Stathopoulos I, Gavriatopoulou M, Kastritis E, Terpos E, Dimopoulos MA. Multiple myeloma: role of autologous transplantation. Cancer Treat Rev. 2020;82:101929.
6. Sehn LH, Salles G. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(9):842-858.
https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2022.281020
Received: March 14, 2022. Accepted: May 18, 2022. Prepublished: May 26, 2022.
©2022 Ferrata Storti Foundation Published under a CC BY-NC license
Disclosures
No conflicts of interest to disclose.
Contributions
KF and MG developed the study concept and design; KF and TJ collected data, performed statistical analysis and drafted the manuscript; MG supervised the study and critically revised the manuscript; RE and CP identified study patients; KP performed statistical data analysis; JM, AL, FK, FJ, KG, AN, MA, KF, AdC, RB, DB, MP, CP, KG, RAS, NK, ASi, IM, NS, AV, IB and MG coordinated patient care and follow-up.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge all the physician assistants and nurses on the bone marrow transplant and cellular therapy unit for their compassionate care for these patients.
Funding
This work was supported by grants from Izzy Englander, Emanuel Chirico, the Jane and Myles Dempsey Family, and Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Program.
Data-sharing statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available upon request.
7. Vaxman I, Visram A, Kumar S, et al. Autologous stem cell transplantation for multiple myeloma patients aged >/= 75 treated with novel agents. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2021;56(5):1144-1150.
8. Chari A, Vogl DT, Gavriatopoulou M, et al. Oral selinexor- dexamethasone for triple-class refractory multiple myeloma. N Engl J Med. 2019;381(8):727-738.
9. Attal M, Richardson PG, Rajkumar SV, et al. Isatuximab plus pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone versus pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (ICARIA-MM): a randomised, multicentre, open-label, phase 3 study. Lancet. 2019;394(10214):2096-2107.
10. Usmani SZ, Nahi H, Plesner T, et al. Daratumumab monotherapy in patients with heavily pretreated relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: final results from the phase 2 GEN501 and
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