Edentulism and transplant-associated complications in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

PURPOSE: Patients undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are at risk for oral complications which may cause significant morbidity. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of toxicities and complications in edentulous and dentate patients undergoing autologous HSCT for multiple myeloma. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective case-control study to analyze the incidence of bacteremia, fever, and oral mucositis, between edentulous and dentate patients. All patients underwent dental evaluation, received dental treatment if indicated, and were cleared before transplantation. The two groups were matched for age, gender, ethnicity, disease stage, time from diagnosis to transplant, performance status, and conditioning regimen. RESULTS: A total of 45 edentulous and 90 dentate patients were enrolled. All patients were male with a median age of 60 years and a mean performance status by Karnofsky score of 90 %. Two thirds had stage III MM with a median time from diagnosis to transplantation of 12 months, and all received melphalan as part of the conditioning regimen. The incidence of bacteremia (p = 0.553), fever (p = 0.245), severity of oral mucositis (p = 0.465), and other post-transplant toxicities were similar between both groups. CONCLUSIONS: There were no significant differences in the incidence of bacteremia, fever, severity of oral mucositis, or other complications between edentulous and dentate patients with multiple myeloma after autologous HSCT.