Quiz: Understand Quality of Life Obstacles for Multiple Myeloma Patients

Question 1

Answer

A.1–2 months

Research shows that patients with multiple myeloma experience immediate deterioration in HRQoL and symptom burdens following transplantation, but that baseline scores are recovered as early as 1–2 months after ASCT.

Question 2

Answer

D.80%

While multiple myeloma remains a largely incurable disease, patients who undergo 3-drug induction regimens with a PI and IMiD plus subsequent ASCT experience a 4-year OS rate of 80%. These survival times make post-treatment HRQoL an important consideration.

Question 3

Answer

D.50%

Multiple myeloma is associated with higher rates of symptom burden and impaired HRQoL than other hematologic cancers, with more than half of patients experiencing bone-lesion pain and fatigue. More than 30% experience dyspnea, sleep disturbance, and changed appetite.

Question 4

Answer

D.All of the above

Because multiple myeloma patients are not usually exposed to cytotoxic chemotherapy prior to high-dose melphalan and ASCT, most have not experienced chemotherapy toxicities such as mucositis, anorexia, or severe chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Question 5

Answer

B.70%; 40%

Financial toxicity is a common but frequently-neglected problem for cancer patients. Among patients undergoing ASCT for multiple myeloma, 70% report financial difficulties at the time of transplantation and 40% post-transplant. However, these figures may represent an underestimate of the true financial impact of ASCT because they do not reflect the costs of post-transplantation PI and IMiD maintenance therapy.