Optimal chemo-mobilization for the collection of peripheral blood stem cells in patients with multiple myeloma

For successful autologous stem cell transplantation, the collection of a sufficient number of hematopoietic stem cells after induction therapy is essential for transplant candidates with multiple myeloma (MM). In this study, we compared the efficacy and safety of stem cell mobilization using cyclophosphamide (CY; 3.0 g/m on day 1) or etoposide (VP-16; 375 mg/m on days 1 and 2) in patients with MM. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF, 10 μg/kg/day, subcutaneously) was administered from the onset of neutropenia to the final day of collection. Sixty-five patients were mobilized with a combination of CY and G-CSF, and 63 were mobilized with a combination of VP-16 and G-CSF. All patients were mobilized within 7 months of beginning frontline treatment. The median number of CD34 cells collected was significantly higher in the VP-16 mobilization group than in the CY mobilization group (27.6 × 10 CD34 /kg vs. 9.6 × 10 CD34 /kg, P