Table 1.
Patients’ baseline characteristics and treatment response
| Characteristic | Total (n = 273) | Conventional chemotherapy (n = 87) | Novel agents (n = 186) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yr | 64 (30–83) | 65 (34–79) | 62 (30–83) | 0.705a |
| Sex, male/female | 160/113 | 49/38 | 111/75 | 0.600b |
| ECOG PS ≥ 2 | 57 (21.2) | 21 (24.4) | 36 (19.7) | 0.374b |
| Monoclonal protein | 0.177b | |||
| IgG | 190 (70.1) | 63 (72.4) | 127 (69) | |
| IgA | 57 (21.0) | 21 (24.1) | 36 (19.6) | |
| IgD or IgE | 7 (2.6) | 1 (1.1) | 6 (3.3) | |
| Light chain disease | 17 (6.3) | 2 (2.3) | 15 (8.2) | |
| International Staging System | 0.955b | |||
| 1 | 56 (20.5) | 18 (20.7) | 38 (20.4) | |
| 2 | 110 (40.3) | 36 (41.4) | 74 (39.8) | |
| 3 | 107 (39.2) | 33 (37.9) | 74(39.8) | |
| Serum M-protein ≥ 3.0 g/dL | 122 (47.1) | 44 (51.8) | 78 (44.8) | 0.294b |
| BM plasma cells ≥ 40% | 117 (45.7) | 37 (45.1) | 80 (46.0) | 0.778b |
| Hemoglobin < 10.0 g/dL | 157 (59.0) | 56 (64.4) | 101 (56.4) | 0.217b |
| Serum calcium > 11.0 mg/dL | 31 (11.8) | 8 (9.4) | 23 (12.9) | 0.409b |
| Serum creatinine > 2.0 mg/dL | 62 (23.3) | 22 (25.3) | 40 (22.3) | 0.595b |
| Bone lesion | 208 (81.3) | 63 (75.9) | 145 (83.8) | 0.129b |
| Neutrophil count, × 109/L | 3.5 (0.4–27.7) | 4.0 (0.5–27.7) | 3.2 (0.4–12.1) | 0.016a |
| Lymphocyte count, × 109/L | 1.8 (0.3–8.70) | 1.7 (0.3–5.5) | 1.7 (0.4–8.7) | 0.947a |
| Platelet count, × 109/L | 186 (15–744) | 173 (28–496) | 186 (15–744) | 0.308a |
| Serum LDH > upper limit of normal | 66 (25.9) | 25 (29.8) | 41 (24.0) | 0.322b |
| Cytogenetics risk | 0.163b | |||
| Standard | 180 (71.4) | 59 (79.7) | 121 (68.0) | |
| High | 72 (28.6) | 15 (20.3) | 57 (32.0) | |
| Stem cell transplant | 47 (17.3) | 6 (6.9) | 41 (22.2) | 0.002b |
Values are presented as median (range) or number (%).
ECOG PS, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status; Ig, immunoglobulin; BM, bone marrow; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase.
a
Student t test.
b
Chi-square test.