Background: There is emerging evidence for the role of exercise in optimising function, quality of life (QoL) and reducing hospital length-of-stay if commenced prior to undergoing autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT). A local pilot study of a prehabilitation and rehabilitation intervention during ASCT for myeloma patients indicated promising results and was adapted to translate into local clinical care. The aim of this report is to describe an overview of a newly implemented physiotherapist-led exercise prehabilitation and rehabilitation service delivered as part of the myeloma ASCT pathway, and present real-world findings related to changes in function and QoL.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHigh-dose melphalan followed by stem cell rescue is the standard consolidative therapy for transplant-eligible patients with multiple myeloma (MM) in the United Kingdom. A melphalan dose of 200 mg/m (Mel200) is considered the "gold standard" for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) conditioning for fit patients ≤70 years old; however, with a peak diagnosis incidence at 80-89 years old in the UK dose adjustments will be inevitable to limit toxicities. In this single-centre UK-based retrospective analysis, data was collected from patients with plasma cell dyscrasias who underwent a first reduced-intensity, Mel140, ASCT from 2006 to 2019, a total of 81 patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Continuous lenalidomide maintenance treatment after autologous stem cell transplantation delivers improvement in progression free and overall survival among newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients and has been the standard of care in the UK since March 2021. However, there is scant information about its impact on patients' day-to-day lives. This service evaluation aimed to qualitatively assess patients receiving lenalidomide treatment at a cancer centre in London, in order that the service might better align with needs and expectations of patients.
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