67-year-old patient undergoes Stem cell transplantation in CMC, Ludhiana – A New mile stone for Punjab

Ludhiana, February 15, 2019: The department of Clinical Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana recently performed an autologous bone marrow (stem cell transplantation) for a 67 year old patient with multiple myeloma, making him the oldest patient to undergo transplantation in Punjab. Mr.BK, from Jammu, was diagnosed to have multiple myeloma, which is a common form of blood cancer seen after 50 years of age. He received chemotherapy, leading to good disease control, after which he underwent an autoSCT. The procedure, led by Dr.Suvir Singh, Dr.Chepsy C Philip and Dr.M Joseph John involved administration of high dose chemotherapy to kill all remaining cancer cells in the patient. As this chemotherapy also kills normal blood forming cells, the cells collected beforehand from the patient were injected back, leading to normal blood production within 2 weeks. AutoSCT is an effective method for disease control in this form of blood cancer, and is advised to be done for all patients even with the use of newer chemotherapy drugs. It is a safe procedure that is associated worldwide with a high chance of success, exceeding 97%. It is important to note that a patient's medical fitness, rather than age, makes it possible for patients’ upto 65 or 70 years of age to undergo a transplant. With this transplantation, it is hoped that more patients with multiple myeloma above 60 years of age are routinely evaluated to see if they are fit for autologous bone marrow transplantation.