Long Survival in Patients with Al Amyloidosis

Eighteen of 127 patients with AL amyloidosis seen before October 1984 were found to have survived 60 months or longer. For this study, a control patient matched for the nearest date of diagnosis was analyzed with each long survivor. Six male and 12 female patients comprised the long survivor group, compared to 10 males and 8 females in the control group. Median survival from diagnosis was 93.3 months (range 60.9-205.3) for the long survivors and 12.3 months (2.3-56.5) for the controls. The marked difference in survival could not be predicted by organ system involvement.