Disparities in Utilization of Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation as Consolidative Therapy for Multiple Myeloma: A...

Most guidelines recommend induction therapy followed by autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation. A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database analysis from 2000 to 2011 noted a lower use of HCT and bortezomib among Black patients, despite adjusting for care barriers, and this practice was associated with a poorer outcome. The goal of this study was to evaluate patterns of acceptance of HCT as consolidative therapy for MM.

Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate the association between the survival time of the patients (overall survival) and age of the diagnosis, race, socioeconomic status, disease cytogenetic, and initial induction regimens. A total of 194 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of MM who were referred for HCT between January 1, 2009, and June 30, 2019, were included in this study. Patients who received autologous stem cell transplant for relapsed MM were excluded.

We found that income category was not significantly associated with overall survival, time to transplant or transplant-/relapse-related mortality. High-risk cytogenetic was significantly associated with shorter overall survival, higher transplant-related mortality and relapse-related mortality (P < .002). The use of aggressive induction choices was associated with poorer transplant outcomes (P = .02). Time to transplant tended to be shorter in African American compared with other ethnic groups (P = .07).

There was no significant difference in the use rate of the HCT between Caucasians and AA patients with MM. Further comparative studies of MM induction therapy and access to clinical trials in African Americans and other racial minorities are warranted.