Management of patients with multiple myeloma in Japan: data of 1,383 patients from 16 hospitals and 1 treatment group.

The available information regarding relevant treatment approaches and outcome in Japanese myeloma patients has been fragmentary and clarification of the position is required. The Japan Myeloma Study Group collected data on 1,383 patients who had been diagnosed and treated during the 11 year period between 1990 and 2000 from 16 participating hospitals and 1 treatment group to investigate the status of the management of multiple myeloma across Japan. There were 724 (53%) male and 643 (47%) female patients with median age being 66-years-old. More than 60% of the patients were classified as having stage III disease. As initial therapy, 1,162 (84.4%) patients were treated with chemotherapy and the median survival was 3.1 years. High-dose therapy followed by stem cell transplantation (SCT) as part of first-line therapy was given in 113 (7.4%) patients with median survival being 4.4 years.