Body Adiposity Index as a Predictor of Body Fat in an Oldest Old and Independent Cohort of Brazilian Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Anthropometry and body mass index (BMI) do not assess body composition or its distribution in older adults; thus, individuals may have different fat percentages but similar BMI values. The body adiposity index (BAI) was recently proposed as a feasible and inexpensive method for estimating the percentage of body fat based on measurements of hip circumference and height. The present study evaluated whether BAI and BMI are useful alternatives to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), which is rarely used in clinical practice, for predicting body fat in independent long-lived older adults. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we used DXA to calculate the percentage of body fat, which was compared with BAI and BMI values. We performed Pearson correlation analyses and used Cronbach's alpha, described by Bland and Altman, to compare the reliability between the indexes. RESULTS: Among 157 evaluated individuals (73.2% women, mean age 87±3.57 years), men had a lower percentage of total fat, as assessed by DXA, and lower BAI indices than women. The correlation between BAI and DXA was moderate (r=0.59 for men and r=0.67 for women, p<0.001). We confirmed the reliability based on Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.67 in men and 0.77 in women. We also observed that the BAI was strongly positively correlated with BMI in both men and women. CONCLUSION: The BAI, used in combination with BMI, can be an alternative to DXA for the assessment of body fat in the oldest old in clinical practice, mainly women, and can be used to add information to BMI.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome-associated lymphoma: A retrospective Brazilian cohort.

After initiating combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may develop Hodgkin/non-Hodgkin lymphoma due to immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS). This retrospective cohort study evaluated the incidence, clinical features and prognosis of IRIS-associated lymphomas in Brazilian patients. Incidence in 2000-2019 was 9.8% (27/276 patients with HIV and lymphoma; viral load drop >1 log). Time between HIV diagnosis and cART initiation was <1 year in 70.3% of cases. Time between cART initiation and lymphoma diagnosis was <3 months in 11 cases and 3-6 months in 16 cases. Overall and progression-free survival rates were similar between cases of non-IRIS-associated lymphoma and IRIS-associated lymphoma.

Factors associated with survival in patients with lymphoma and HIV.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors associated with survival in the largest cohort of individuals with HIV and lymphoma so far described in Brazil. DESIGN: A retrospective, observational, multicenter study involving five institutions in São Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: The medical records of consecutive patients with HIV diagnosed with lymphoma between January 2000 and December 2019 were screened. Inclusion criteria consisted of age over 17 years and a biopsy-confirmed diagnosis of lymphoma. The data collected included age, sex, staging (Ann Arbor system), duration of HIV infection, CD4 + lymphocyte count, HIV viral load, lactate dehydrogenase, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum beta-2-microglobulin levels, treatment and outcome. RESULTS: Overall, 276 patients were included. Median age was 42 years. Most patients were male (74.3%) and with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1 (28.6% and 46.4%, respectively). Most had non-Hodgkin lymphomas (89.2%, n  = 246), particularly diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (40.9%) and Burkitt lymphoma (26.4%). Hodgkin lymphoma accounted for 9.4%. Advanced stages III/IV were predominant (86.8%). HIV viral load at the moment of lymphoma diagnosis was detectable in 52.9% of patients. A CD4 + cell count of <200 cells/µl was recorded for 53% of the patients. Most patients (62.4%) were on combination antiretroviral therapy. The factors that significantly affected survival were: the ECOG performance status, lymphoma subtype, staging, beta-2-microglobulin level, central nervous system (CNS) infiltration, site of CNS infiltration, relapsed/refractory lymphoma and International Prognostic Index score. CONCLUSIONS: HIV status, CD4 + -lymphocyte count and relapsed/refractory disease affected survival. Rituximab did not appear to improve outcome in HIV-related lymphomas.

miRNA profile and disease severity in patients with sickle cell anemia.

Identification of biomarkers associated with severity in sickle cell anemia is desirable. Circulating serum microRNAs (miRNA) are targets studied as diagnostic or prognostic markers, but few studies have been conducted in sickle cell anemia. The purpose of this study is to identify specific signatures of miRNAs in plasma samples from sickle cell anemia patients according to severity indexes. Screening of the miRNAs expression was performed in 8 patients, classified by tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV) measure: 4 with TRV ≥ 2.5 m/s and 4 with TRV < 2.5 m/s. The samples were analyzed by real-time PCR using Megaplex RT Human Pool A and Pool B comprising 667 distinct miRNAs. Seventeen miRNAs were differentially expressed between the two groups (p < 0.05). Five differentially expressed miRNAs (miR15b, miR502, miR510, miR544, miR629) were selected for validation in a cohort of 52 patient samples, 26 with TRV ≥ 2.5 m/s. Another two severity scores were also used: organ injury score (OIS) and Bayesian score (BS). Univariate binary logistic regressions were performed to analyze the data. Five out of 17 differentially expressed miRNAs were selected for validation in 52 patient samples: miR15b, miR502, miR510, miR544, and miR629. Two miRNAs (miR510 and miR629) were significantly decreased in cases of greater severity. Whereas miR510 expression discriminated the patients according to TRV and OIS, miR629 expression did it according to BS. This is the first study investigating plasma miRNAs as possible biomarkers for SCA severity. Our data suggest that low levels of miR510 and miR629 expression are associated with greater SCA disease severity. Further studies are still necessary to elucidate mechanism of these miRNAs and their related proteins.

May critical molecular cross-talk between indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) and arginase during human aging be targets for immunosenescence control?

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify novel plasma metabolic signatures with possible clinical relevance during the aging process. A biochemical quantitative phenotyping platform, based on targeted electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry technology, was used for the identification of any eventual perturbed biochemical pathway by the aging process in prospectively collected peripheral blood plasma from 166 individuals representing the population of São Paulo city, Brazil. RESULTS: Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) activity (Kyn/Trp) was significantly elevated with age, and among metabolites most associated with elevations in IDO, one of the strongest correlations was with arginase (Orn/Arg), which could also facilitate the senescence process of the immune system. Hyperactivity of IDO was also found to correlate with increased blood concentrations of medium-chain acylcarnitines, suggesting that deficiencies in beta-oxidation may also be involved in the immunosenescence process. Finally, our study provided evidence that the systemic methylation status was significantly increased and positively correlated to IDO activity. CONCLUSIONS: In the present article, besides identifying elevated IDO activity exhibiting striking parallel association with the aging process, we additionally identified increased arginase activity as an underlying biochemical disturbance closely following elevations in IDO. Our findings support interventions to reduce IDO or arginase activities in an attempt to preserve the functionality of the immune system, including modulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), T cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells' function, in old individuals/patients.

Tumor Microenvironment Proteomics: Lessons From Multiple Myeloma.

Although the "seed and soil" hypothesis was proposed by Stephen Paget at the end of the 19th century, where he postulated that tumor cells (seeds) need a propitious medium (soil) to be able to establish metastases, only recently the tumor microenvironment started to be more studied in the field of Oncology. Multiple myeloma (MM), a malignancy of plasma cells, can be considered one of the types of cancers where there is more evidence in the literature of the central role that the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment plays, contributing to proliferation, survival, migration, and drug resistance of tumor cells. Despite all advances in the therapeutic arsenal for MM treatment in the last years, the disease remains incurable. Thus, studies aiming a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease, as well as searching for new therapeutic targets are necessary and welcome. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the protein expression profiling of mononuclear cells derived from BM of MM patients in comparison with these same cell types derived from healthy individuals, in order to fill this gap in MM treatment. Proteomic analysis was performed using the mass spectrometry technique and further analyses were done using bioinformatics tools, to identify dysregulated biological pathways and/or processes in the BM microenvironment of patients with MM as a result of the disease. Among the pathways identified in this study, we can highlight an upregulation of proteins related to protein biosynthesis, especially chaperone proteins, in patients with MM. Additionally, we also found an upregulation of several proteins involved in energy metabolism, which is one of the cancer hallmarks. Finally, with regard to the downregulated proteins, we can highlight mainly those involved in different pathways of the immune response, corroborating the data that has demonstrated that the immune system of MM is impaired and, therefore, the immunotherapies that have been studied recently for the treatment of the disease are extremely necessary in the search for a control and a cure for these patients who live with the disease.

Single nucleotide variants in immune-response genes and the tumor microenvironment composition predict progression of mantle cell lymphoma.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence to consider that the tumor microenvironment (TME) composition associates with antitumor immune response, and may predict the outcome of various non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes. However, in the case of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a rare and aggressive disease, there is lacking a detailed study of the TME components, as well as an integrative approach among them in patients' samples. Also, from the genetic point of view, it is known that single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in immune-response genes are among important regulators of immunity. At present, it is uncertain whether SNVs in candidate immune-response genes and the TME composition are able to alter the prognosis in MCL. METHODS: We assessed a detailed TME composition in 88 MCL biopsies using immunohistochemistry, which was automatically analyzed by pixel counting (Aperio system). We also genotyped SNVs located in candidate immune-response genes (IL12A, IL2, IL10, TGFB1, TGFBR1, TGFBR2, IL17A, IL17F) in 95 MCL patients. We tested whether the SNVs could modulate the respective protein expression and TME composition in the tumor compartment. Finally, we proposed survival models in rituximab-treated patients, considering immunohistochemical and SNV models. RESULTS: High FOXP3/CD3 ratios (p = 0.001), high IL17A levels (p = 0.003) and low IL2 levels (p = 0.03) were individual immunohistochemical predictors of poorer survival. A principal component, comprising high quantities of macrophages and high Ki-67 index, also worsened outcome (p = 0.02). In the SNV model, the CC haplotype of IL10 (p < 0.01), the GG genotype of IL2 rs2069762 (p = 0.02) and the AA+AG genotypes of TGFBR2 rs3087465 (p < 0.01) were independent predictors of outcome. Finally, the GG genotype of TGFB1 rs6957 associated with lower tumor TGFß levels (p = 0.03) and less CD163+ macrophages (p = 0.01), but did not modulate patients' survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the TME composition has relevant biological roles in MCL. In this setting, immunohistochemical detection of T-reg cells, IL17A and IL2, coupled with SNV genotyping in IL10, TGFBR2 and IL2, may represent novel prognostic factors in this disease, following future validations.

Biochemical phenotyping of multiple myeloma patients at diagnosis reveals a disorder of mitochondrial complexes I and II and a Hartnup-like disturbance as underlying conditions, also influencing different stages of the disease.

The aim of this study was to identify novel plasma metabolic signatures with possible relevance during multiple myeloma (MM) development and progression. A biochemical quantitative phenotyping platform based on targeted electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry technology was used to aid in the identification of any eventual perturbed biochemical pathway in peripheral blood plasma from 36 MM patients and 73 healthy controls. Our results showed that MM cases present an increase in short and medium/long-chain species of acylcarnitines resembling Multiple AcylCoA Dehydrogenase Deficiency (MADD), particularly, associated with MM advanced International Staging System (ISS). Lipids profile showed lower concentrations of phosphatidylcholine (PC), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and sphingomyelins (SM) in the MM patients and its respective ISS groups. MM cases were accompanied by a drop in the concentration of essential amino acids, especially tryptophan, with a significant inverse correlation between the progressive drop in tryptophan with the elevation of ß2-microglobulin, with the increase in systemic methylation levels (Symmetric Arginine Dimethylation, SDMA) and with the accumulation of esterified carnitines in relation to free carnitine (AcylC/C0). Serotonin was significantly elevated in cases of MM, without a clear association with ISS. Kynurenine/tryptophan ratio demonstrates that the activity of dioxigenases is even higher in the cases classified as ISS 3. In conclusion, our study showed that MM patients at diagnosis showed metabolic disorders resembling both mitochondrial complexes I and II and Hartnup-like disturbances as underlying conditions, also influencing different stages of the disease.

An integrative microenvironment approach for follicular lymphoma: roles of inflammatory cell subsets and immune-response polymorphisms on disease clinical course.

The study of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in follicular lymphoma (FL) has produced conflicting results due to assessment of limited TME subpopulations, and because of heterogeneous treatments among different cohorts. Also, important genetic determinants of immune response, such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), remain underexplored in this disease. We performed a detailed study of the TME in 169 FL biopsies using immunohistochemistry, encompassing lymphocytes, macrophages, and cytokines. We also genotyped 16 SNPs within key immune-response genes (IL12A, IL2, IL10, TGFB1, TGFBR1, TGFBR2, IL17A, and IL17F) in 159 patients. We tested associations between SNPs, clinicopathological features and TME composition, and proposed survival models in R-CHOP/R-CVP-treated patients. Presence of the IL12A rs568408 "A" allele associated with the follicular pattern of FOXP3+ cells. The IL12A AA haplotype included rs583911 and rs568408 and was an independent predictor of worse survival, together with the follicular patterns of T-cells (FOXP3+ and CD8+) and high IL-17F tumor levels. The patterns of CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells, displayed as a principal component, also associated with survival. Hierarchical clustering of the TME proteins demonstrated a cluster that was associated with worse prognosis (tumors enriched in IL-17A, IL-17F, CD8, PD1, and Ki-67). The survival of FL patients who were treated in the rituximab era shows a strong dependence on TME signals, especially the T-cell infiltration patterns and IL-17F tumor levels. The presence of the AA haplotype of IL12A in the genome of FL patients is an additional prognostic factor that may modulate the composition of T-reg cells in this disease.

Sequential combination of bortezomib and WEE1 inhibitor, MK-1775, induced apoptosis in multiple myeloma cell lines.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple myeloma (MM) remains incurable due to high rates of relapse after various treatment regimens. WEE1 is a cell cycle related gene that regulates the G2/M checkpoint and promotes cell cycle suspension for consequent DNA repair. To date, there are clinical studies for the evaluation of WEE1 inhibitors in the treatment of solid tumors and studies on cell lines of non-MM hematological tumors. OBJECTIVES: To perform in vitro functional studies to verify the effect of the inhibition of WEE1 on MM cell lines viability and its potential as therapeutic target. MATERIAL AND METHODS: WEE1 expression was evaluated in 22 newly diagnosed MM patients and in four MM cell lines, RPMI-8226, U266 and SKO-007 and SK-MM2, by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). After treatment with the WEE1 inhibitor (MK-1775), with or without proteasome inhibitor (bortezomib) pretreatment, we assessed cell viability through Prestoblue functional test, microspheres formation in soft agar, and induction of apoptosis and cell cycle alterations by flow cytometry. RESULTS: All MM cell lines showed WEE1 expression by qPCR. RPMI-8226 and U266 showed a 50% reduction in cell viability after 24 h of incubation with MK-1775, at concentrations of 5 µM and 20 µM, respectively. SKO-007 showed dose and time dependence to this drug. Combination therapy with bortezomib and MK-1775 abolished the formation of soft agar microspheres in the RPMI-8226 cell line (also responsive to the use of both drugs) and U266, but SKO-007 was resistant to all drugs, isolated and combined. However, treatment of bortezomib followed by MK-1775 (sequential treatment) versus bortezomib alone showed statistically significant impact on cell lines total apoptosis: 88.8% vs 74.1% in RPMI-8222 (confirmed by cell cycle experiments); 92.5% vs 86.6% in U266; and 60.2% 30.9% on SKO-007 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The sequential combination of bortezomib and WEE1 inhibitor, MK-1775, induced apoptosis in RPMI-8226, U266, and especially SKO-007 cell lines, more efficiently than the use of the same isolated drugs, highlighting its effect in inhibition of proliferation of tumor cells in MM cell lines. Our data suggest that WEE1 can figure as a MM target and that the sequential combination of bortezomib and MK-1775 may be explored in future clinical trials.

Stew in its Own Juice: Protein Homeostasis Machinery Inhibition Reduces Cell Viability in Multiple Myeloma Cell Lines.

INTRODUCTION: Multiple myeloma (MM) cells accumulate in the bone marrow and produce enormous quantities of immunoglobulins, causing endoplasmatic reticulum stress and activation of protein handling machinery, such as heat shock protein response, autophagy and unfolded protein response (UPR). METHODS: We evaluated cell lines viability after treatment with bortezomib (B) in combination with HSP70 (VER-15508) and autophagy (SBI-0206965) or UPR (STF- 083010) inhibitors. RESULTS: For RPMI-8226, after 72 hours of treatment with B+VER+STF or B+VER+SBI, we observed 15% of viable cells, but treatment with B alone was better (90% of cell death). For U266, treatment with B+VER+STF or with B+VER+SBI for 72 hours resulted in 20% of cell viability and both treatments were better than treatment with B alone (40% of cell death). After both triplet combinations, RPMI-8226 and U266 presented the overexpression of XBP-1 UPR protein, suggesting that it is acting as a compensatory mechanism, in an attempt of the cell to handle the otherwise lethal large amount of immunoglobulin overload. CONCLUSION: Our in vitro results provide additional evidence that combinations of protein homeostasis inhibitors might be explored as treatment options for MM.

Transcriptome Analysis of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Multiple Myeloma Patients Reveals Downregulation of Genes Involved in Cell Cycle Progression, Immune Response, and Bone Metabolism.

A growing body of evidence suggests a key role of tumor microenvironment, especially for bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), in the maintenance and progression of multiple myeloma (MM), through direct and indirect interactions with tumor plasma cells. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the gene expression and functional alterations of MSC from MM patients (MM-MSC) in comparison with their normal counterparts from normal donors (ND-MSC). Gene expression analysis (Affymetrix) was performed in MM-MSC and ND-MSC after in vitro expansion. To validate these findings, some genes were selected to be evaluated by quantitative real time PCR (RT-qPCR), and also functional in vitro analyses were performed. We demonstrated that MM-MSC have a distinct gene expression profile than ND-MSC, with 485 differentially expressed genes (DEG) - 280 upregulated and 205 downregulated. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that the main enriched functions among downregulated DEG were related to cell cycle progression, immune response activation and bone metabolism. Four genes were validated by qPCR - ZNF521 and SEMA3A, which are involved in bone metabolism, and HLA-DRA and CHIRL1, which are implicated in the activation of immune response. Taken together, our results suggest that MM-MSC have constitutive abnormalities that remain present even in the absence of tumors cells. The alterations found in cell cycle progression, immune system activation, and osteoblastogenesis suggest, respectively, that MM-MSC are permanently dependent of tumor cells, might contribute to immune evasion and play an essential role in bone lesions frequently found in MM patients.

Targeting the polarization of tumor-associated macrophages and modulating mir-155 expression might be a new approach to treat diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the elderly.

Aging immune deterioration and Epstein-Barr (EBV) intrinsic mechanisms play an essential role in EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of the elderly (EBV + DLBCLe) pathogenesis, through the expression of viral proteins, interaction with host molecules and epigenetic regulation, such as miR-155, required for induction of M1 phenotype of macrophages. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between macrophage polarization pattern in the tumor microenvironment and relative expression of miR-155 in EBV + DLBCLe and EBV-negative DLBCL patients. We studied 28 EBV + DLBCLe and 65 EBV-negative DLBCL patients. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) were evaluated by expression of CD68, CD163 and CD163/CD68 ratio (degree of M2 polarization), using tissue microarray. RNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded tumor samples for miR-155 relative expression study. We found a significantly higher CD163/CD68 ratio in EBV + DLBCLe compared to EBV-negative DLBCL. In EBV-negative DLBCL, CD163/CD68 ratio was higher among advanced-staged/high-tumor burden disease and overexpression of miR-155 was associated with decreased polarization to the M2 phenotype of macrophages. The opposite was observed in EBV + DLBCLe patients: we found a positive association between miR-155 relative expression and CD163/CD68 ratio, which was not significant after outlier exclusion. We believe that the higher CD163/CD68 ratio in this group is probably due to the presence of the EBV since it directly affects macrophage polarization towards M2 phenotype through cytokine secretion in the tumor microenvironment. Therapeutic strategies modulating miR-155 expression or preventing immuno-regulatory and pro-tumor macrophage polarization could be adjuvants in EBV + DLBCLe therapy since this entity has a rich infiltration of M2 macrophages in its tumor microenvironment.

Anti-myeloma effects of ruxolitinib combined with bortezomib and lenalidomide: A rationale for JAK/STAT pathway inhibition in myeloma patients.

JAK proteins have been linked with survival and proliferation of multiple myeloma (MM) cells; therefore, JAK inhibition could be a therapeutic strategy for MM. We evaluated JAK1 and JAK2 expression in MM patients and the effects of JAK/STAT pathway inhibition on apoptosis, cell cycle, gene and protein expression in RPMI-8226 and U266 MM cell lines. 57% of patients presented overexpression of JAK2 and 27%, of JAK1. After treatment with ruxolitinib and bortezomib, RPMI-8226 and U266 presented 50% of cells in late apoptosis, reduction of anti-apoptotic genes expression and higher number of cells in SubG0 phase. Co-culture with stromal cells protected RPMI-8226 cells from apoptosis, which was reversed by lenalidomide addition. Combination of ruxolitinib, bortezomib and lenalidomide induced 72% of cell death, equivalent to bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone, combination used in clinical practice. Many JAK/STAT pathway genes, after treatment, had their expression reduced, mainly in RPMI-8226, with insignificant changes in U266. In this scenario, JAK/STAT pathway could pose as a new therapeutic target to be exploited, since it is constitutively active and contributes to survival of MM tumor cells.

International, evidence-based consensus diagnostic criteria for HHV-8-negative/idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease.

Human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8)-negative, idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD) is a rare and life-threatening disorder involving systemic inflammatory symptoms, polyclonal lymphoproliferation, cytopenias, and multiple organ system dysfunction caused by a cytokine storm often including interleukin-6. iMCD accounts for one third to one half of all cases of MCD and can occur in individuals of any age. Accurate diagnosis is challenging, because no standard diagnostic criteria or diagnostic biomarkers currently exist, and there is significant overlap with malignant, autoimmune, and infectious disorders. An international working group comprising 34 pediatric and adult pathology and clinical experts in iMCD and related disorders from 8 countries, including 2 physicians that are also iMCD patients, was convened to establish iMCD diagnostic criteria. The working group reviewed data from 244 cases, met twice, and refined criteria over 15 months (June 2015 to September 2016). The proposed consensus criteria require both Major Criteria (characteristic lymph node histopathology and multicentric lymphadenopathy), at least 2 of 11 Minor Criteria with at least 1 laboratory abnormality, and exclusion of infectious, malignant, and autoimmune disorders that can mimic iMCD. Characteristic histopathologic features may include a constellation of regressed or hyperplastic germinal centers, follicular dendritic cell prominence, hypervascularization, and polytypic plasmacytosis. Laboratory and clinical Minor Criteria include elevated C-reactive protein or erythrocyte sedimentation rate, anemia, thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis, hypoalbuminemia, renal dysfunction or proteinuria, polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia, constitutional symptoms, hepatosplenomegaly, effusions or edema, eruptive cherry hemangiomatosis or violaceous papules, and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonitis. iMCD consensus diagnostic criteria will facilitate consistent diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and collaborative research.

Observational study of multiple myeloma in Latin America.

Relatively little is known about the outcomes of multiple myeloma in Latin America, a world region where incorporation of novel agents is generally slow. In the current retrospective-prospective study, we aimed to describe the patterns of care and treatment results in five Latin American countries. Between April 2007 and October 2009, patients who had been diagnosed from January 2005 to December 2007 were registered at 23 institutions from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru. We divided patients into two cohorts, according to transplantation eligibility, and analyzed them with regard to first-line treatment and overall survival (OS). We analyzed a total of 852 patients, 46.9 % of whom were female. The median follow-up was 62 months. Among transplantation-ineligible patients (N = 461), the mean age was 67.4 years, approximately one third of patients received a thalidomide-based treatment in the first line, and the median OS was 43.0 months. Transplantation-eligible patients (N = 391) had a mean age of 54.7 years and a median OS of 73.6 months. Autologous transplantation was performed in 58.6 % of the patients for whom this procedure was initially planned and in only 26.9 % of the overall patients. Our long-term results reflect the contemporary literature for patients with multiple myeloma treated with autologous transplantation and thalidomide-based regimens in clinical trials and observational studies. However, further efforts are needed to approve and incorporate novel agents in Latin American countries, as well as to increase access to transplantation, in order to achieve the expected improvements in patient outcomes.