Clinical and quality of life responses to high-dose chemotherapy plus autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple sclerosis: two case reports.

Abstract

During the last several years high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been established as a therapeutic option for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. We report on the long-term effects of HDCT + ASCT in two female patients affected by secondary progressive and relapsing-remitting types of MS, respectively. As a result, disease stabilization was achieved in the first case and disease improvement in the second one. Both patients were off immunosuppressive or immunomodulating therapy throughout the post-transplant period. Notably, HDCT + ASCT resulted in an excellent quality of life (QoL) response in both cases. Our findings demonstrate that HDCT + ASCT could be considered as an effective treatment for MS patients. Moreover, QoL measurement seems to be an effective approach to assessment of treatment outcomes at long-term follow-up of patients with MS.