Usefulness of the hematopoietic cell transplantation-specific comorbidity index (HCT-CI) in predicting outcomes for adolescents and young adults with hematologic malignancies undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplant.

Background: The HCT-CI helps to predict non-relapse mortality (NRM) and overall survival (OS) in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) recipients. The usefulness of this index in a younger, adolescent and young adult (AYA) population is unclear.

Procedure: We tested the validity of the HCT-CI as a predictor of mortality in a retrospective cohort of 56 AYA recipients between the ages of 16 and 39, using chart abstraction followed by univariable and multivariate analysis.

Chemomobilization with Etoposide is Highly Effective in Patients with Multiple Myeloma and Overcomes the Effects of Age and Prior Therapy.

The optimal mobilization strategy prior to autologous stem cell transplantation for patients with multiple myeloma remains unclear. Mobilization with cytokines alone appears to yield suboptimal results in older patients as well as patients who have received prior lenalidomide. To avoid the marked cytopenias and risks of hemorrhagic cystitis associated with the administration of cyclophosphamide, we investigated the efficacy and safety of chemomobilization with an intermediate dose etoposide (VP-16; 375 mg/m(2) on days +1 and +2) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) (5 μg/kg twice daily from day +3 through the final day of collection).