RESUMO
Ninety three patients with multiple myeloma (MM) were treated with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, melphalan, prednisone and adriamycin (C.O.M.P.A.). Their median age was 60.9 years and sixty five were males. Seven patients were in stage I-A; 25 in II-A; 33 in III-A and 28 in III-B. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 61 (65.6%), partial remission (PR) in 18 (19.3%) and no response in 14 (15%). At present, the mean survival of the CR group, is 32.3 months (10 to 78), and of the PR 11.2 months (6 to 18). The actuarial survival of the CR group is 37.9 months. A hemoglobin level lower than 8.5 g/dL, serum creatinine higher than 2.0 mg/dL, and stage III disease were factors that together negatively influenced in both response to treatment and survival. Proteinuria did not affect response, but it was a negative factor for survival. Thirty percent of deaths were due to infection, and 24.5% to myeloma activity associated with infection. We conclude that this five drug combination (C.O.M.P.A.) achieves a high percentage of complete remissions, but does not differ significantly from other reported schemes in the mean survival obtained for multiple myeloma.