The purpose of this study is to compare the effect of short-term (2 hours/120 minutes) and long-term (6 hours/360 minutes) schedules of crushed ice therapy (cryotherapy). Patients that receive high dose melphalan for bone marrow transplantation commonly develop significant mouth pain and sores (oral mucositis) unless cryotherapy is utilized. The goal of this study is to scientifically determine (using randomization and a larger sample size) if a short-term schedule is as effective as the standard long-term schedule in preventing, or minimizing the symptoms involved with oral mucositis. The study is also trying to determine the best dose of melphalan and how patient's body breaks down melphalan and will obtain blood through central venous catheter to measure the amount of melphalan in patient's blood at specific times after the melphalan is infused

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To measure the maximum inpatient mucositis grade after 120- vs. 360-minutes standardized cryotherapy regimens in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at Ohio State Medical Center.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To develop a pharmacokinetic model predicting variability in unbound serum melphalan area under the concentration-time curve (AUC).

II. To compare the neutropenic fever and bacteremia incidence after 120- vs. 360-minute cryotherapy regimens.

III. To compare patient-reported mucositis-related symptoms up until discharge utilizing the Patient-Reported Oral Mucositis Symptoms Scale (PROMS) after 120- vs 360-minute cryotherapy regimens.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

ARM I: Beginning fifteen minutes before melphalan treatment, patients receive 1 ounce of shaved ice in their mouth, allow it to melt and then replenish it immediately for 120 minutes.

ARM II: Beginning fifteen minutes before melphalan treatment, patients receive 1 ounce of shaved ice in their mouth, allow it to melt and then replenish it immediately for 360 minutes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients must be diagnosed with multiple myeloma be admitted for autologous stem cell transplantation
• Age > 18 years
• Patients or their legal representatives must be able to read, understand and provide informed consent to participate in the trial

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any other medical condition, including mental illness or substance abuse, deemed by the principal investigator to likely interfere with a patient's ability to sign informed consent, cooperate and participate in the study, or interfere with the interpretation of the results