Risk factors for neutropenia with lenalidomide plus dexamethasone therapy for multiple myeloma

Neutropenia may develop as an adverse event in patients with multiple myeloma receiving lenalidomide (LEN) plus dexamethasone (DEX) therapy. In the present study, we examined the risk factors associated with grade 3/4 neutropenia during the first cycle of LEN plus DEX therapy. We observed that hemoglobin level (≤ 8.5 g/dl) was a significant risk factor for grade 3/4 neutropenia during the first cycle of therapy (odds ratio: 19.40; 95% confidence interval: 2.68–141.00; p < 0.01). Thus, our findings suggest that determining the hemoglobin level could be useful in the risk management for neutropenia in patients receiving LEN plus DEX therapy.