Stem Cell Transplant: How to Determine if a Multiple Myeloma Patient is Eligible
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/ Updated February 9th, 2022

Stem Cell Transplant: How to Determine if a Multiple Myeloma Patient is Eligible

Medically Reviewed: Dr. Doris Hansen Written by Joe Kerwin
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Who Can Receive a Stem Cell Transplaant?

  • Some patients being treated for multiple myeloma will undergo a stem cell transplant.
  • Some patients may not be able to tolerate this procedure. Some of the main factors in a doctor’s decision on whether or not a patient is eligible for a stem cell transplant include age, general fitness and other health conditions.
  • There is debate within the scientific community over when stem cell transplants should be administered, so this element of treatment is still evolving.
Though there is variation in treatment regimens for induction therapy, one of the most significant differentiators in the kind of treatment people receive for multiple myeloma is whether or not they are eligible for a stem cell transplant.

What is a Stem Cell Transplant?

A stem cell transplant helps people being treated for multiple myeloma recover from the loss of blood cells they experience with melphalan chemotherapy.

Read More
RELATED: How Does a Stem Cell Transplant Work?

In the first phase of treatment, chemotherapy drugs are used to kill cancer cells; the problem is that chemotherapy drugs also hurt healthy blood cells.

By removing stem cells (blood-making cells) before induction, and putting them back in the patient’s body after induction, stem cell transplants help multiple myeloma patients get back to healthy blood cell levels sooner than they would otherwise.

Who Can Receives a Stem Cell Transplant?

Speaking with SurvivorNet, Dr. Jing Ye gave us insight into how doctors decide whether or not a patient is eligible for a stem cell transplant.

"In clinic, we usually separate patients into two different groups," she said. "One group of patients can be eligible for a transplant, and the other group is not eligible for transplant. We usually use different criteria to decide whether or not they are eligible or not."

RELATED: Can Multiple Myeloma Patients Skip or Delay Stem Cell Transplants?

One of the most important factors is age. Though there's no absolute age requirement, it can help doctors determine which patients will be able to manage a stem cell transplant. Other elements that doctors take into account are overall fitness and whether or not the patient has any comorbidities.

"If they have significant heart problem, lung problems, kidney problems, or liver problem, they might not be able to tolerate a transplant," said Dr. Ye.

Possibilities for Future Research

Dr. Ye acknowledged that there are still important unanswered questions regarding who should have a stem cell transplant and when they should have them.

"There is also a debate in our myeloma field among experts whether or not we should offer transplant right … after induction versus … later on when disease relapsed," she said. "So those are the important questions actually for our clinical research."

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Joe Kerwin is a writer and researcher at SurvivorNet, based in New York City. Read More

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