RATIONALE: Giving chemotherapy drugs, such as melphalan, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. Chemoprotective drugs, such as amifostine, may protect normal cells from the side effects of chemotherapy. Giving chemotherapy with a peripheral stem cell transplant once or twice, using stem cells from the patient or an identical brother or sister, may allow more chemotherapy to be given so more cancer cells are killed. Giving maintenance therapy after a stem cell transplant may kill any cancer cells that remain. It is not yet known which dose of melphalan is more effective in treating multiple myeloma (MM). PURPOSE: This randomized phase III trial is studying two different doses of melphalan to compare how well they work when given together with amifostine followed by one or two autologous or syngeneic stem cell transplants and maintenance therapy in treating patients with stage II-III MM
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. Compare the complete response (CR) and near CR rate in patients undergoing autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) using melphalan 280 mg/m\^2 or melphalan 200 mg/m\^2. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. Compare toxicities between patients receiving amifostine and melphalan 280 mg/m\^2 or melphalan 200 mg/m\^2. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. INDUCTION THERAPY: ARM I (HIGH DOSE MELPHALAN AND AMIFOSTINE): Patients receive amifostine intravenously (IV) over 3-5 minutes on days -3 and -2 followed by high-dose melphalan IV over 15-30 minutes on day 2. ARM II (LOW DOSE MELPHALAN AND AMIFOSTINE): Patients receive amifostine as in arm I and melphalan as in arm I at a lower dose. AUTOLOGOUS OR SYNGENEIC PERIPHERAL BLOOD STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION (PBSCT): At least 20 hours after completion of melphalan, patients undergo autologous or syngeneic PBSCT on day 0. Patients undergo restaging of the disease between days 80-90. Patients with progressive disease are removed from the study. Patients who achieve a CR or near-CR can proceed to optional maintenance therapy. Patients who do not achieve a CR or near-CR may undergo additional induction therapy as in arm I followed by a second autologous or syngeneic PBSCT. Patients again undergo restaging of the disease 80-90 days later. Patients with progressive disease are removed from the study. Patients without progressive disease can proceed to maintenance therapy. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up every 3 months for 5 years.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
130
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, California, United States
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York, United States
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Seattle, Washington, United States
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington Cancer Consortium
Seattle, Washington, United States
CR and Near CR Rates
Per modified European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplant (EBMT) response criteria for definition of response in patients with multiple myeloma treated by high-dose therapy and stem cell transplantation: Complete Response (CR): Complete disappearance of all clinically measurable disease, complete response requires negative tests for monoclonal proteins in serum and urine by immunofixation, no monoclonal plasma cells in marrow specimen by flow cytometry and no evidence of progressive bone disease by skeletal survey. "Near" Complete Response (nCR): Less than 0.1 gram/dL monoclonal protein detectable in serum by standard protein electrophoresis and less than 50 mg monoclonal protein detectable in urine on 24 hour collection. Less than 5% monoclonal plasma cells detectable in bone marrow by immunohistochemistry. No evidence of progressive bone disease by skeletal survey.
Time frame: Up to 120 days after transplant
Relative Toxicities Between Melphalan 280 mg/m^2 or Melphalan 200 mg/m^2
Number of Grade 3-4 adverse events observed in each group from enrollment through the Day 80-120 evaluation. Grade 3-4 events are defined by the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) Version 4.0.
Time frame: Up to day 56 after transplant
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