Abstract
Systemic chemotherapy aimed at eradicating transformed plasma cells is the mainstay of treatment for immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL). Autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT) is a highly effective treatment for AL and can lead to long term survival in excess of 10 years in patients who achieve complete remission. Since AL is a unique disease characterized by multiple organ dysfunction, SCT poses unique challenges in this disease. Morbidity and mortality of SCT has remarkably improved over time primarily due to careful selection of patients and evolution of predictive and prognostic models based on serum immunoglobulin light chains and cardiac biomarkers. In this review we focus on the historical evolution of SCT as a treatment for AL and unique challenges it poses in the management of this rare disease and provide guidelines for managing these challenges.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 129-137 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Current Problems in Cancer |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- AL
- Immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis
- Stem cell transplantation
- Stem cell transplantation for AL
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Oncology
- Cancer Research