Successful Treatment of Low-Dose Lenalidomide Maintenance Therapy Followed by Second Autologous Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation in Heavily Treated Multiple Myeloma

Recently, the prognosis of multiple myeloma has been improved by using high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (ASCT), bortezomib, and immunomodulatory drugs including thalidomide and lenalidomide. On the other hand, treatment strategy remains difficult for refractory and relapse cases. Here, we report the successful treatment of low-dose lenalidomide maintenance therapy followed by salvage ASCT in a heavily treated patient with multiple myeloma. This 58-year-old woman with IgG-λ multiple myeloma had a 5th recurrence in June, 2011. It was 7 years post-diagnosis, and she had received conventional therapies such as VAD, MP therapy. Furthermore, the patient had already been treated with ASCT, bortezomib, and thalidomide therapy. At the 5th recurrence, she had extramedullary plasmacytoma in the left orbit. She initially received bortezomib and dexamethasone therapy as induction therapy. After peripheral blood stem cell collection, radiation therapy was performed. The patient then received a second ASCT. Three months later, the response was very good partial response. Finally, the patient was treated with 5 mg/day lenalidomide orally as a maintenance therapy, and she achieved stringent complete response after 2 months according to International Myeloma Working Group response criteria. Low-dose lenalidomide maintenance therapy might be also useful for ASCT as salvage therapy, although further studies are warranted.