Baseline patient characteristics by age group
. | 65 years or younger, n = 39 . | . | Older than 65 years, n = 36 . | . | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics . | No. . | % . | No. . | % . | ||
| Sex, P = .24 | ||||||
| Male | 21 | 54 | 25 | 69 | ||
| Female | 18 | 46 | 11 | 31 | ||
| Previous high-dose therapy, P < .0001 | ||||||
| None | 20 | 51 | 35 | 97 | ||
| Prior allograft | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Prior autograft | 15 | 38 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Prior chemotherapy regimens, no., P = .076* | ||||||
| 1 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 2 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 31 | ||
| 3 | 11 | 28 | 6 | 17 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 31 | ||
| 5 | 7 | 18 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Disease state on commencing thalidomide, P = .46† | ||||||
| Relapsed | 36 | 92 | 30 | 83 | ||
| Refractory or transient response to prior treatment | 3 | 8 | 5 | 14 | ||
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| ECOG performance status, P = 1.0* | ||||||
| 0 | 11 | 28 | 8 | 22 | ||
| 1 | 15 | 38 | 18 | 50 | ||
| 2 | 13 | 33 | 10 | 28 | ||
| Hemoglobin level below 110 g/L, P = .49 | 18 | 46 | 20 | 56 | ||
| Platelet count, below 50 × 109/L, P = 1.0 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 11 | ||
| Neutrophil count, less than 1.0 × 109/L, P = .67 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | ||
| β2-microglobulin level, P = .18* | ||||||
| 3 mg/L or lower | 10 | 26 | 8 | 22 | ||
| Above 3 but below 6 mg/L | 19 | 49 | 11 | 31 | ||
| At least 6 mg/L | 10 | 26 | 17 | 47 | ||
| LDH level, P = .59‡ | ||||||
| ULN or lower | 31 | 79 | 25 | 69 | ||
| Greater than ULN | 8 | 21 | 10 | 28 | ||
| Cytogenetics, P = .11§ | ||||||
| Normal | 13 | 33 | 8 | 22 | ||
| Chromosome 13 deletion | 2 | 5 | 7 | 19 | ||
| No mitoses or not available | 24 | 62 | 21 | 58 | ||
. | 65 years or younger, n = 39 . | . | Older than 65 years, n = 36 . | . | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics . | No. . | % . | No. . | % . | ||
| Sex, P = .24 | ||||||
| Male | 21 | 54 | 25 | 69 | ||
| Female | 18 | 46 | 11 | 31 | ||
| Previous high-dose therapy, P < .0001 | ||||||
| None | 20 | 51 | 35 | 97 | ||
| Prior allograft | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Prior autograft | 15 | 38 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Prior chemotherapy regimens, no., P = .076* | ||||||
| 1 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 2 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 31 | ||
| 3 | 11 | 28 | 6 | 17 | ||
| 4 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 31 | ||
| 5 | 7 | 18 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Disease state on commencing thalidomide, P = .46† | ||||||
| Relapsed | 36 | 92 | 30 | 83 | ||
| Refractory or transient response to prior treatment | 3 | 8 | 5 | 14 | ||
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| ECOG performance status, P = 1.0* | ||||||
| 0 | 11 | 28 | 8 | 22 | ||
| 1 | 15 | 38 | 18 | 50 | ||
| 2 | 13 | 33 | 10 | 28 | ||
| Hemoglobin level below 110 g/L, P = .49 | 18 | 46 | 20 | 56 | ||
| Platelet count, below 50 × 109/L, P = 1.0 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 11 | ||
| Neutrophil count, less than 1.0 × 109/L, P = .67 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 8 | ||
| β2-microglobulin level, P = .18* | ||||||
| 3 mg/L or lower | 10 | 26 | 8 | 22 | ||
| Above 3 but below 6 mg/L | 19 | 49 | 11 | 31 | ||
| At least 6 mg/L | 10 | 26 | 17 | 47 | ||
| LDH level, P = .59‡ | ||||||
| ULN or lower | 31 | 79 | 25 | 69 | ||
| Greater than ULN | 8 | 21 | 10 | 28 | ||
| Cytogenetics, P = .11§ | ||||||
| Normal | 13 | 33 | 8 | 22 | ||
| Chromosome 13 deletion | 2 | 5 | 7 | 19 | ||
| No mitoses or not available | 24 | 62 | 21 | 58 | ||