Impact of age on outcome of patients with cancer undergoing autologous bone marrow transplant.

PURPOSE: We examined the impact of age on outcomes in patients with cancer undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: All 506 adult patients who underwent ABMT at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center between January 1987 and January 1994 were studied. A total of 405 patients were aged 18 to 49 years and 101 were aged > or = 50. The effect of age and other prognostic variables on transplant-related mortality (TRM), relapse, and event-free survival rates were analyzed. RESULTS: Patients aged > or = 50 years has a 2.24-fold increased risk of TRM. Although relapse rates were not different based on age, the increased TRM rate resulted in a slight decrease in overall event-free survival in the older patients. Causes of death were not different by age and were mainly related to preparative regimen toxicity. Length of hospital stay and hospitalization costs were not increased in the older patients. CONCLUSION: While the TRM rate was higher in older patients, relapse rates were not increased. Nearly 25% of older patients were expected to be cured of the disease. These data support the use of ABMT in eligible older patients, at least up to the age of 65.