Continuous Administration of Low-Dose Cyclophosphamide and Prednisone as a Salvage Treatment for Multiple Myeloma.

To assess the efficacy and tolerability of continuous low-dose cyclophosphamide and prednisone regimen (CP) as a salvage therapy for multiple myeloma (MM).

The CP regimen consisted of oral cyclophosphamide at 50 mg and prednisone at 15 mg daily. A total of 27 consecutive patients received the CP regimen: 19 patients had severe comorbid conditions; 8 were unwilling to continue conventional chemotherapy due to severe infection associated with conventional treatment. All patients had received 1-4 chemotherapeutic regimens prior to the current study.

The overall response rate (complete remission, very good partial response, and partial response) was 66.7%. The median time to response was 2 months. In the patients who responded to the treatment, the median progression-free survival has not been reached. In the non-responding patients, the median progression-free survival was 4 months. In patients with severe comorbid conditions and unwilling to accept conventional chemotherapy because of severe infection, the physical conditions improved significantly.

Continuous low-dose CP regimen is an effective and well-tolerated salvage therapy for MM.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.