Loading...
The prognosis for patients with systemic light chain amyloidosis (AL) has improved considerably with the introduction of new therapeutic protocols (JW Oncol Hematol May 29 2012). However, patients with advanced-stage disease and cardiac involvement have usually been excluded from these treatment regimens.
To determine whether treatment improves survival in patients with high-risk AL, investigators from four major European centers analyzed outcomes in 346 patients with echocardiograph-confirmed cardiac involvement. A total of 103 patients died within 3 months of enrollment; these patients, compared with the entire cohort, had poorer performance status, lower systolic blood pressure, and higher levels of N-terminal fragment brain type natriure…