Trends in day 100 and 2-year survival after auto-SCT for AL amyloidosis: outcomes before and after 2006

The role of auto-SCT in the management of Ig light-chain (AL) amyloidosis remains undefined. In this study, we report 422 patients who received auto-SCT for AL amyloidosis to compare outcomes of patients treated before January 2006 with those treated from January 2006 to 1 December 2009. Day 100 all-cause mortality decreased over this time period from 12 to 7% (P=0.09). Survival at 2 years increased from 78 to 82%. The major determinants of early mortality (before day 100) were the presence of cardiac involvement by amyloid with increased levels of cardiac biomarkers, lower serum albumin, higher serum creatinine and a higher number of organs involved. On multivariate survival analysis, higher levels of serum troponin T and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide were the only predictors of early mortality after auto-SCT. Improved supportive care and refined patient selection have improved the safety margin of patients undergoing auto-SCT; short-term mortality showed a more than 40% decrease after 2005.