Dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide, etoposide and cisplatin (DCEP) for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients

The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and toxicity of DCEP (dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide, etoposide, cisplatin), as third-line regimen in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) patients.

Twelve patients (11 men, 1 woman, aged 38-73 years, median 58) with relapsed or refractory MM received 28 cycles of DCEP. Eleven out of 12 patients had already failed 4-6 cycles of VAD (vincristine, doxorubicin, dexamethasone), 7/12 had received 2 or more lines of prior therapy and one of them had high-dose therapy with stem cell support. Seven out of 12 patients were candidates for megatherapy with autologous peripheral blood stem cells transplantation (ASCT) either as consolidation or as salvage treatment. Each cycle of DCEP consisted of cyclophosphamide 400 mg/m(2)/daily, cisplatin 15 mg/m(2)/daily and etoposide 40 mg/m(2)/daily as a 24h infusion, all three drugs administered on days 1-4; plus dexamethasone i.v. bolus 40 mg daily, days 1-4. The dose of cisplatin was adjusted in case of renal impairment. G-CSF was administered daily from day +5 to recovery. The course was repeated every 28 days or was delayed 5-10 days according to the patient's clinical condition.

The regimen was well tolerated with no major adverse reactions, except for grade 3 or 4 myelotoxicity of short duration. Responses were assessed using the EBMT criteria after the second cycle. Two out of 12 patients achieved complete remission (CR) and 5/12 partial remission (PR), while 5/12 had no response (NR). The overall response (OR) was 58.3% with a median response duration 9 months (range 4-36). Four patients proceeded to successful peripheral blood stem cell mobilization and transplantation.

DCEP is an effective and safe salvage treatment for relapsed or refractory MM patients which also offers the possibility for a successful peripheral blood stem cells collection in patients eligible for high-dose therapy and ASCT.