ArticlePDF Available

Impacts of post-transplantation cyclophosphamide treatment after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia

Springer Nature
Scientific Reports
Authors:

Abstract

Post-transplant cyclophosphamide has become a promising medical option after allogeneic HSCT. In this study we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of cyclophosphamide and cyclosporine combination in acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases scheduled for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Retrospective analysis of data from 40 cases who underwent allogeneic HSCT under GvHD prophylaxis with cyclophosphamide and cyclosporine combination between April 2016 and August 2017 was made. Cyclophosphamide was given at daily doses of 50 mg/kg on post-transplant 3rd and 4th days, and cyclosporine was applied at daily doses of 3 mg/kg/day starting from the 5th post-transplant day. Cyclosporine dose was tapered beginning from the 45th postoperative day and completely discontinued on the 90th post-transplant day. Mean age was 38.25 ± 15.25 years. Posttransplant median follow-up was six months (6–17 months). Post-transplant, the number of deaths and mortality rates related and unrelated to transplantation were 5 (12.5%), and 2 (5%), respectively. Acute GvHD was diagnosed in 7 cases (17.5%), and relapse was noted in 9 cases (22.5%). Myeloablative or reduced intensity conditioning was performed in 22 (55%) and 18 (45%) patients, respectively. The distribution of the donors was as follows: match-related (n = 26; 65%), match-unrelated (n = 9, 22.5%) and haploidentical donors (n = 5; 12.5%). There was no statistically significant correlation between the transplant-related and unrelated mortality and parameters under investigation.Cyclophosphamide use appears to be a highly effective and promising strategy for acute GvHD prophylaxis in non-haploidentical allogeneic HSCT cases. Identification of the impact of cyclophosphamide use on the development of chronic GvHD needs further investigation.
1
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | (2019) 9:2046 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38644-1
www.nature.com/scientificreports
Impacts of post-transplantation
cyclophosphamide treatment after
allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation in acute myeloid
leukemia
Sinem Namdaroglu, Ali Hakan Kaya, Hikmettullah Batgi, Omur Kayikci, Mehmet Sinan Dal,
Dicle Iskender, Merih Kizil Cakar, Emre Tekgunduz & Fevzi Altuntas
Post-transplant cyclophosphamide has become a promising medical option after allogeneic HSCT. In
this study we aimed to evaluate the ecacy of cyclophosphamide and cyclosporine combination in
acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases
scheduled for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Retrospective analysis of
data from 40 cases who underwent allogeneic HSCT under GvHD prophylaxis with cyclophosphamide
and cyclosporine combination between April 2016 and August 2017 was made. Cyclophosphamide was
given at daily doses of 50 mg/kg on post-transplant 3rd and 4th days, and cyclosporine was applied at
daily doses of 3 mg/kg/day starting from the 5th post-transplant day. Cyclosporine dose was tapered
beginning from the 45th postoperative day and completely discontinued on the 90th post-transplant day.
Mean age was 38.25 ± 15.25 years. Posttransplant median follow-up was six months (6–17 months).
Post-transplant, the number of deaths and mortality rates related and unrelated to transplantation
were 5 (12.5%), and 2 (5%), respectively. Acute GvHD was diagnosed in 7 cases (17.5%), and relapse
was noted in 9 cases (22.5%). Myeloablative or reduced intensity conditioning was performed in 22
(55%) and 18 (45%) patients, respectively. The distribution of the donors was as follows: match-related
(n = 26; 65%), match-unrelated (n = 9, 22.5%) and haploidentical donors (n = 5; 12.5%). There was
no statistically signicant correlation between the transplant-related and unrelated mortality and
parameters under investigation.Cyclophosphamide use appears to be a highly eective and promising
strategy for acute GvHD prophylaxis in non-haploidentical allogeneic HSCT cases. Identication of the
impact of cyclophosphamide use on the development of chronic GvHD needs further investigation.
Transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells from any source (bone marrow, peripheral blood, umbilical cord
blood) is a treatment not only for hematopoietic system diseases but also for metabolic and immunological disor-
ders. Patients with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) carry a high risk of transplant-related mortal-
ity and morbidity due to immunological mechanisms, toxicity due to drugs used in the preparation regimens, and
long hospitalization times1. In addition to early complications of HSCT, particularly allogeneic transplant patients
are exposed to long-term consequences that require lifelong follow-up and treatment2.
Transplantation-related mortality has gradually decreased in recent years with the development of supportive
therapies, preventive treatments, and early diagnosis facilities. However, HSCT, in addition to its therapeutic
properties, faces us with its many complications. HSCT can be classied according to the source of the progenitor
cell used. Although both of these sources have advantages and disadvantages, both infectious and non-infectious
complications are more likely to occur in allogeneic transplantations1,2. In a cohort study involving 1479 patients
with at least two years survival aer allogeneic HSCT, relapse of the primary disease was the most frequent
Department of Hematology, Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, University of Health Sciences,Ankara Oncology Training
and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to S.N.
(email: drsinemnamdaroglu@gmail.com)
Received: 5 October 2018
Accepted: 20 December 2018
Published: xx xx xxxx
OPEN
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved
www.nature.com/scientificreports/
2
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | (2019) 9:2046 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38644-1
cause of mortality (29%), while the most common causes of non-relapse mortality were gra-versus-host disease
(GvHD) (22%), infections (11%), secondary malignancies (7%), pulmonary complications (5%), cardiac toxicity
(2%) and other treatment-related events (8%)3.
In a similar retrospective analysis performed in autologous stem cell transplantation treated diuse large β
cell patients, causes of mortality apart from relapse of the disease were found to be respiratory failure (31%),
infections (13%), cardiac toxicity (15%) and secondary malignancies (15%)4. Allogeneic HSCT is a treatment
option with the potential to cure many malignant and non-malignant hematological disorders. As results are
improved with preventive and supportive therapies, indications are also developing. Alternative stem cell sources
have increased the likelihood of nding donors, and even haploidentical transplantation have yielded acceptable,
successful outcomes.
Post-transplant cyclophosphamide has become a promising medical option aer allogeneic HSCT. is
method has gained popularity due to its safety prole and ecacy for reduction of GvHD5. HLA-haploidentical
HSCT using post-transplant high-dose cyclophosphamide is becoming a more popular alternative strategy for
allogeneic HSCT6.
e aim of the present study was to investigate the eect of posttransplant cyclophosphamide use on mortality,
relapse and acute or chronic GvHD formation in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with allogeneic HSCT.
Materials and Methods
Study design. In this retrospective study, data were extracted from the les of 40 AML patients treated with
allogeneic HSCT in a tertiary center who were also receiving immunosuppressive therapy with cyclophosphamide
and cyclosporine during the post-transplant period. is study was conducted by the Declaration of Helsinki and
was approved by Ankara Oncology Training and Research hospital ethics committee. Written informed consent
was obtained from all patients.
In our center, medical records of allogeneic HSCT patients under prophylaxis for GvHD with cyclophospha-
mide during the post-transplant period were retrospectively evaluated between April 2016 and August 2017. A
total of 40 patients (14 female, 26 male) had a mean age of 38.25 ± 15.25 years in our series. In all cases, cyclo-
phosphamide at daily doses of 50 mg/kg was given on 3rd and 4th days aer transplantation, and cyclosporine
at daily doses of 3 mg/kg/day starting from the 5th postoperative day was administered. Cyclosporine dose was
tapered beginning from the 45th postoperative day, and completely discontinued on the 90th postoperative day.
Acute GvHD detected on the cases was staged according to standard criteria.
Patients were divided into two groups according to pre-transplant risk class, chemotherapy regimen applied
(myeloablative or reduced intensity monitoring), date of transplantation, GvHD, the presence of a genetic anom-
aly, transplant-related and unrelated 100-day mortality rates and relapses were recorded.
Cytogenetic risk classication was performed according to standard criteria7. Conditioning intensity was
dened as myeloablative or reduced intensity using the consensus criteria8. e day of platelet recovery was
termed as the rst day on which the platelet count reached or exceeded 20 × 109/L without transfusion. e
day of neutrophil recovery was dened as the rst of 3 consecutive days on which the absolute neutrophil count
was more than 0.5 × 109/L. e International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry criteria were used for acute
GvHD staging and grading, and the National Institute of Health criteria were used to determine chronic GvHD
severity911.
Initial neutrophil engraftment was defined as the first of 3 consecutive days with an ANC of more than
0.5 × 109/L. Platelet engrament was dened as the rst of 3 consecutive days with a PLT count of more than
20 × 109/L without transfusion support. GVHD was graded by the consensus criteria1214.
e inclusion criteria for this study consisted of: (1) using G-CSF mobilized peripheral blood as gra source,
(2) using a matched related/unrelated or haploidentical donor and (3) using PT-Cy (50 mg/kg on days +3 and
+4), a calcineurin inhibitor and mycophenolate mofetil as GvHD prophylaxis. Filgrastim 5 μg/kg daily was
administered starting day +5 until neutrophil recovery. e lack of complete remission on the last bone marrow
biopsy performed within 4 weeks before conditioning initiation was accepted as active disease.
Donor engrament was determined by a PCR-based assay for STRs from bone marrow samples or peripheral
blood mononuclear cells9, and dened as donor chimerism >95%, and gra failure as <5% not due to relapse.
Gra failure, relapse or death (all without GvHD) were considered competing risks for GvHD; relapse was
considered a competing risk for nonrelapse mortality; death without relapse was considered competing risk for
relapse; and death without count recovery was considered a competing risk for count recovery.
e allogeneic stem cell transplantation was performed with a conditioning regimen including Busulfan s3.2 mg/
kg/day for three days (BU3), Fludarabine 40 mg/m²/day for four days (FLU4), rabbit Anti-thymocyte globulin
2.5 mg/kg/day for three days.(ATG). Patients were hydrated starting fron 24 hours prior to the stem cell infusion.
Premedication consistent of chlorfenoxamine hydrochloride (10 mg) in 100 ml of isotonic saline and dexamethasone
(8 mg) in 100 ml isotonic saline was administered within 30 minutes approximately 1 hour before stem cell infusion.
e infusion volume and the number of stem cells (CD34+ or nucleated cells) were noted. Irradiation or the uses of
infusion pump or leukocyte lter were omitted. e rate of stem cell infusion was 2 ml/min. In case of the absence
of any reaction in 30 minutes, infusion was carried on at a rate of 150–200 ml/hour. e infusion is completed max-
imally within 4 hours. In case of major incompatibility, stem cell transfusion was initiated at a rate of 20 ml/hour in
the rst 30 minutes and at a rate of 40 ml/hour in the second 30 minutes. Aer the rst hour, infusion was carried on
at a rate of 150–200 ml/hour. For major incompatibility, the rates of infusion were 60 ml/hour and 90 ml/hour for the
rst and second 30 minutes, respectively. Aer the rst hour, the rate was kept at 150–200 ml/hour.
Statistical analysis. SPSS 21 program (Chicago, USA) was used for data analysis. As a descriptive analysis,
the mean ± standard deviation was given when assumptions were met for numerical variables, and when not met
the median and the smallest-largest values were given. For categorical variables, numerical and percentage values
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved
www.nature.com/scientificreports/
3
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | (2019) 9:2046 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38644-1
were given. e t-test was used in independent groups when assumptions were met in intergroup comparisons
of numerical measurements, when not met the Mann-Whitney U test was used. For the comparisons between
the categorical variables, the chi-square test was used. A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically signicant.
Results
Posttransplant median follow-up was 6 (range, 1 to 17) months. Most frequently detected genetic
anomalies encountered in this series combined WT1 (n = 9, 22.5%), FLT3 ITD and WT1 positivity (n = 4; 10%).
Myeloablative or reduced intensity conditioning was performed in 22 (55%) and 18 (45%) patients, respectively.
e distribution of the donors was as follows: (MRD) (n = 26; 65%), match-unrelated (n = 9, 22.5%) and haploi-
dentical (n = 5; 12.5%).
As for the number of posttransplant deaths, the mortality rates related, and unrelated to bone marrow trans-
plantation were determined as 5 (12.5%) and 2 cases (5%), respectively.
Acute GvHD has been diagnosed in 7 cases (17.5%) as skin, liver, and gastrointestinal tract involvement can
occur. Chronic GvHD was not observed in any case. Relapse was seen in 9 cases (22.5%).
Correlation analysis between parameters studied (aGvHD, relapse, gender, genetic anomaly, pre-transplant
protocol, type of donor) and mortality status related or unrelated to transplantation on the 100th postoperative
day revealed no statistically signicant dierence (Tables1 and 2).
Correlation analysis between parameters studied (relapse, gender, genetic anomaly, pre-transplant protocol,
type of donor) and aGvHD revealed no statistically signicant dierence (Table3).
Correlation analysis between parameters studied (gender, genetic anomaly, pre-transplant protocol, type of
donor) and relapse revealed no statistically signicant dierence (Table4).
ere was no statistically signicant relationship between age-related variables and the transplant-related
mortality (p = 0.905), the presence of aGvHD (p = 0.304) and relapse (p = 0.483).
Discussion
Allogeneic HSCT is a complex procedure which is used to treat many hematological and immunological entities.
In spite of its therapeutic potential, toxicities linked with its application usually restrict the utility of allogeneic
HSCT against high-risk diseases or if other less toxic therapies have failed. ere are mainly two complications
related to the procedure: conditioning regimen toxicity and immunological complications15. e development
of immunological co-morbidities aer allogeneic HSCT is related to the diversity in human leukocyte antigen
(HLA) status between the donor and the recipient. Eorts have been spent to improve HLA donor typing and use
of immunosuppressive agents following allogeneic HSCT.
ere is an increasing interest in the use of agents such as cyclophosphamide and cyclosporine for GvHD
prophylaxis, both in the haploidentical and HLA-identical settings. is method oers advantages such as the
improved eect on GvHD control without any complex procedures like gra manipulation5,6. e safety prole of
this method is satisfactory compared to previous protocols, and this is evident not solely from the very low rate of
gra failure but also in an acceptable incidence of infective complications. ere are still many questions awaiting
to be replied related to the ways for improvement of these settings. Even if the use of immunosuppressive agents
is feasible, the relatively high rate of aGvHD and vagueness on the incidence of cGvHD constitute important
challenges. erefore, keeping aGvHD rate lower with dierent immunosuppressive protocols is important. In
this aim, the use of cyclosporine together with cyclophosphamide have yielded promising results16. Consequently,
an acceptable toxicity prole and a fast immune reconstitution must be targeted to establish an immunological
platform capable for reduction of relapse aer transplantation.
Var ia bl e
Mortality status on the 100th
postoperative day related to
transplantation
p-valueSurvive (n, %) Dead (n, %)
aGvHD Present 28 (71.8) 4 (10.2) 1.000
Absent 6 (15.4) 1 (2.6)
Relapse Present 26 (66.7) 5 (12.8) 0.570
Absent 9 (23.1) 0
Gender Female 12 (30.8) 2 (5.1) 1.000
Male 23 (59) 3 (7.7)
Genetic anomaly Present 4 (10.2) 01.000
Absent 30 (76.9) 5 (12.8)
Pre-transplant protocol Myeloablative 18 (46.2) 4 (10.2) 0.355
RIC 17 (43.6) 1 (2.6)
Type of donor
MRD 24 (61.5) 2 (5.1)
0.220Haploidentical 3 (7.7) 2 (5.1)
MUD 8 (20.5) 1 (2.6)
Table 1. Correlation between parameters studied and mortality status related to transplantation on the 100th
postoperative day. (Abbreviations: aGvHD: acute gra versus host disease; RIC: reduced intensity conditioning;
MRD: match related donor; MUD: match-unrelated donor).
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved
www.nature.com/scientificreports/
4
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | (2019) 9:2046 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38644-1
Ruggeri et al. evaluated the eect of stem cell source in haploidentical transplantation with posttransplan-
tion cyclophosphamide in 451 patients transplanted for AML and revealed that the use of peripheral blood
stem cells increases the risk of acute GVHD, whereas survival outcomes are comparable17. Experience using
post-transplant cyclophosphamide as GVHD prophylaxis in allogeneic HSCT from matched sibling or unrelated
donors is limited and with controversial results. Ruggeri et al. analyzed 423 patients with acute leukemia who
Var ia bl e
Mortality status on the 100th
postoperative day unrelated
to transplantation
p-valueSurvive (n, %) Dead (n, %)
aGvHD Present 28 (71.8) 4 (10.2) 1.000
Absent 6 (15.4) 1 (2.6)
Relapse Present 26 (66.7) 5 (12.8) 0.404
Absent 9 (23.1) 0
Gender Female 12 (30.8) 2 (5.1) 0.533
Male 23 (59) 3 (7.7)
Genetic anomaly Present 4 (10.2) 01.000
Absent 30 (76.9) 5 (12.8)
Pre-transplant protocol Myeloablative 18 (46.2) 4 (10.2) 0.196
RIC 17 (43.6) 1 (2.6)
Type of donor
MRD 24 (61.5) 2 (5.1)
0.301Haploidentical 3 (7.7) 2 (5.1)
MUD 8 (20.5) 1 (2.6)
Table 2. Correlation between parameters studied and mortality status unrelated to transplantation on the 100th
postoperative day. (Abbreviations: aGvHD: acute gra versus host disease; RIC: reduced intensity conditioning;
MRD: match related donor; MUD: match-unrelated donor).
Var ia bl e
aGvHD
p-value+
Relapse Present 24 (61.5) 6 (15.4) 1.000
Absent 8 (20.5) 1 (2.6)
Gender Female 10 (25.6) 4 (10.2) 0.225
Male 22 (56.4) 3 (7.7)
Genetic anomaly Present 3 (7.7) 1 (2.6) 1.000
Absent 28 (71.8) 6 (15.4)
Pre-transplant protocol Myeloablative 20 (51.3) 2 (5.1) 0.205
RIC 12 (30.8) 5 (12.8)
Type of donor
MRD 21 (55.3) 4 (10.2)
0.424Haploidentical 3 (7.7) 2 (5.1)
MUD 8 (20.5) 1 (2.6)
Table 3. e correlation between acute gra-versus-host disease (aGvHD), and the parameters analyzed.
(Abbreviations: aGvHD: acute gra versus host disease; RIC: reduced intensity conditioning; MRD: match
related donor; MUD: match unrelated donor).
Var ia bl e
Relapse
p-value+
Gender Present 12 (30.8) 2 (5.1) 0.453
Absent 19 (48.7) 7 (17.9)
Genetic anomaly Female 3 (7.7) 1 (2.6) 1.000
Male 28 (71.8) 7 (17.9)
Pretransplant protocol Myeloablative 18 (46.2) 4 (10.2) 0.705
RIC 13 (33.3) 5 (12.8)
Type of donor
MRD 19 (48.7) 7 (17.9)
0.243Haploidentical 5 (12.8) 0
MUD 7 (17.9) 2 (5.1)
Table 4. Correlation between relapse and the parameters analyzed. (Abbreviations: RIC: reduced intensity
conditioning; MRD: match related donor; MUD: match unrelated donor).
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved
www.nature.com/scientificreports/
5
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | (2019) 9:2046 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38644-1
received cyclophosphamide alone or in combination with other immunosuppressive drugs as GVHD prophylaxis
and stated that the addition of other immunosuppressive drugs enhances its eect and reduces the risk of severe
cGVHD, reducing mortality and improving survival18.
Gra-versus-host disease is a leading cause of non-relapse mortality aer allogeneic HSCT19. More recently,
high dose administration of cyclophosphamide aer transplantation has been introduced as an eective method
of prophylaxis for GvHD20. is protocol is based on the logic that alloreactive donor T lymphocytes can be elimi-
nated, which are induced to proliferate soon aer transplant, which induces tolerance. Trials on non-myeloablative
conditioning haploidentical HSCT with cyclophosphamide aer transplantation displayed obvious tolerability
with low rates of GvHD, infection, and mortality unrelated to relapse16. e relapse of malignancy is still the
predominant cause of treatment failure. To reduce the risk of relapse in patients with high-risk hematologic malig-
nancies, the feasibility of cyclophosphamide aer transplantation administration utilizing reduced intensity or
myeloablative conditioning regimens can be used. Our results indicated that none of the parameters under inves-
tigation were signicantly linked with mortality, relapse, and GvHD. Owing to the success of cyclophosphamide
aer transplantation tolerance in the setting of haplo-HCT, this regime has been extended to the patients who
underwent allogeneic HSCT from HLA-matched donors. Acute GvHD is a challenge that must be managed, and
its incidence can be reduced using the utility of one or more immunosuppressive agents21. In this perspective, we
recommend the use of cyclophosphamide and cyclosporine as prophylactic agents for GvHD. Currently, sucient
evidence for its ecacy and safety aer transplantation has accumulated under both reduced intensity and myelo-
ablative settings. e timing of transplantation is supposed to be critical for a successful outcome for patients with
hematological malignancies. Cyclophosphamide aer transplantation allows expansion of the donor pool, making
marrow transplantation applicable for patients with stem cell donor. is method is associated with a low risk of
complications, even with haploidentical related donors. Factors such as the experience of the center, facilities and
the availability of clinical trials must be remembered to set the suitable treatment algorithm. Allogeneic HSCT
with cyclophosphamide aer transplantation, as an immunological platform, provides the chance to safely explore
innovative approaches to diminish the risk of relapse following transplant5,6.
An ideal immunosuppressive regimen needs to be eective for patients with standard or high-risk myeloid
malignancies, who are going to receive HSCT. It is expected to have reduced extramedullary toxicity, low rate of
relapse, acute and chronic GvHD rate, and improved survival.
Stem cell transplantation is an important treatment modality and cure for malignant or non-malignant bone
marrow diseases. However, considering the causes of mortality other than the relapse of the primary disease,
long-term multidisciplinary and close follow-up of the patients is needed, because of the early or long-term
comorbidities and complications that may arise. In a recent study, Chiusolo et al. suggested that post-transplant
cyclophosphamide regimen provided protection against GVHD, low toxicity, and encouraging low relapse inci-
dence in AML patients who received unmanipulated haploidentical marrow transplants along with a myeloabla-
tive regimen21. Bacigalupo et al. implied that a myeloablative conditioning regimen followed by unmanipulated
haploidentical bone marrow transplantation with post-transplant cyclophosphamide was associated with a low
risk of acute and chronic GVHD and encouraging rates of mortality and overall survival22. Another recent publi-
cation demonstrated that an MA conditioning regimen followed by haploidentical bone marrow transplantation
with BMT with post-transplant cyclophosphamide resulted in a low risk of acute and chronic GVHD and more
promising rates of transplant-related mortality and disease-free survival23. Klein et al. reported excellent rates of
engrament, GVHD, and TRM in pediatric/young adult patients treated with post-transplant cyclophosphamide
regimen. ey suggested that this approach was a widely available, safe, and feasible option for pediatric and
young adult patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies, including those with a prior history of myeloab-
lative bone marrow transplantation and/or those with comorbidities or organ dysfunction24. us, the results of
relevant contemporary publications are mainly consistent with our ndings.
We could not determine any signicant relationship between relapse, gender, type of donor, genetic anomaly,
pre-transplant protocol and mortality, relapse and GvHD. is may be associated with limitations of our study
such as retrospective design, single-centered construct, relatively low number of cases and short-term follow-up.
Conduction of multi-centered, controlled, prospective relevant studies with larger series and longer duration of
follow-up is needed.
In the last decade, the most important development in AML has been the demonstration of a relationship of some
cytogenetic anomalies with prognosis. e cytogenetic properties of the patients are the most important factors for
determining the time of transplantation for most leukemia specialists. Follow-up aer consolidation is recommended
for patients with a good cytogenetic prognostic prole, and those who developed remission aer induction therapy.
In patients having favorable prognostic criteria, patients with PR or relapses, following induction and consolidation
of chemotherapies in patients with moderate or poor prognosis allogeneic HSCT should be performed. If appropriate
HLA -matched unrelated donors are available, HSCT should be performed using these donors.
To conclude, cyclophosphamide use appears to be a highly eective and promising strategy for acute GvHD
prophylaxis in allogeneic HSCT cases. Due to the short duration of median follow-up, it is too early to make a
healthy interpretation concerning the impact of this approach on the development of chronic GvHD, and factors
related to mortality and relapse.
References
1. ZauchaPrazmo, A. et al. Transplantrelated mortality and survival in children with malignancies treated with allogeneic
hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. A multicenter analysis. Pediatric transplantation. 22, e13158 (2018).
2. De la ubia, J. et al. Transplant-related mortality in patients older than 60 years undergoing autologous hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplantation. 27, 21–25 (2001).
3. Bhatia, S. et al. Late mortality aer allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation and functional status of long-term survivors: report
from the Bone Marrow Transplant Survivor Study. Blood. 110, 3784–3792 (2007).
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved
www.nature.com/scientificreports/
6
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS | (2019) 9:2046 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38644-1
4. Hill, B. T. et al. e nonrelapse mortality rate for patients with diuse large Bcell lymphoma is greater than relapse mortality 8
years aer autologous stem cell transplantation and is signicantly higher than mortality rates of population controls. British journal
of haematology. 152, 561–569 (2011).
5. Mussetti, A., Greco, ., Peccatori, J. & Corradini, P. Post-transplant cyclophosphamide, a promising anti-gra versus host disease
prophylaxis: where do we stand? Expert review of hematology. 10, 479–492 (2017).
6. ashidi, A. et al. Post-transplant high-dose cyclophosphamide after HLA-matched vs haploidentical hematopoietic cell
transplantation for AML. Bone marrow transplantation. 51, 1561 (2016).
7. Grimwade, D. et al. National Cancer esearch Institute Adult Leuaemia Woring Group. enement of cytogenetic classication
in acute myeloid leuemia: determination of prognostic signicance of rare recurring chromosomal abnormalities among 5876
younger adult patients treated in the United ingdom Medical esearch Council trials. Blood. 116, 354–365 (2010).
8. Bacigalupo, A. et al. Defining the intensity of conditioning regimens: woring definitions. Biology of blood and marrow
transplantation. 15, 1628–1633 (2009).
9. Martinelli, G. et al. Early detection of bone marrow engrament by amplication of hypervariable DNA regions. Haematologica. 82,
156–160 (1997).
10. owlings, P. A. et al. IBMT Severity Index for grading acute graversushost disease: retrospective comparison with Glucsberg
grade. British journal of haematology. 97, 855–864 (1997).
11. Jagasia, M. H. et al. National Institutes of Health consensus development project on criteria for clinical trials in chronic gra-versus-
host disease: I. e 2014 Diagnosis and Staging Woring Group report. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 21, 389–401
(2015).
12. Cai , X. et al. A modified busulfan and cyclophosphamide preparative regimen for allogeneic transplantation in myeloid
malignancies. International journal of clinical pharmacy. 37, 44–52 (2015).
13. Przepiora, D. et al. 1994 Consensus conference on acute GVHD grading. Bone marrow transplantation. 15, 825–828 (1995).
14. Sullivan, . M. et al. Chronic gra-versus-host disease and other late complications of bone marrow transplantation. In Seminars in
hematology. 28, 250–259 (1991).
15. Atilla, E., Atilla, P. A., Topra, S. . & Demirer, T. A review of late complications of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell
transplantations. Clinical transplantation. 31, e13062 (2017).
16. Mielcare, M. et al. Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide for prevention of graft-versus-host disease after HLA-matched
mobilized blood cell transplantation. Blood. 127, 1502–1508 (2016).
17. uggeri, A. et al. Bone marrow versus mobilized peripheral blood stem cells in haploidentical transplants using posttransplantation
cyclophosphamide. Cancer. 124, 1428–1437 (2018).
18. uggeri, A. et al. Post-transplant cyclophosphamide for gra-versus-host disease prophylaxis in HLA matched sibling or matched
unrelated donor transplant for patients with acute leuemia, on behalf of ALWP-EBMT. Journal of hematology & oncology. 11, 40
(2018).
19. Levine, J. E. et al. A prognostic score for acute gra-versus-host disease based on biomarers: a multicentre study. e Lancet
Haematology. 2, 21–29 (2015).
20. Jorge, A. S. et al. Single Antigen–Mismatched Unrelated Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Using High-Dose Post-
Transplantation Cyclophosphamide Is a Suitable Alternative for Patients Lacing HLA-Matched Donors. Biology of Blood and
Marrow Transplantation. 24, 1196–1202 (2018).
21. Chiusolo, P. et al. A Modified Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide egimen, for Unmanipulated Haploidentical Marrow
Transplantation, in Acute Myeloid Leuemia: A Multicenter Study. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 24, 1243–1249
(2018).
22. Bacigalupo, A. et al. Unmanipulated haploidentical bone marrow transplantation and post-transplant cyclophosphamide for
hematologic malignanices following a myeloablative conditioning: an update. Bone marrow transplantation. 50, 37–39 (2015).
23. aiola, A. M. et al. Unmanipulated haploidentical bone marrow transplantation and posttransplantation cyclophosphamide for
hematologic malignancies aer myeloablative conditioning. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 19, 117–122 (2013).
24. lein, O. . et al. Nonmyeloablative haploidentical bone marrow transplantation with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide for
pediatric and young adult patients with high-ris hematologic malignancies. Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 23,
325–332 (2017).
Author Contributions
Sinem Namdaroglu wrote the main manuscript text. Ali Hakan Kaya reviewed literature. Hikmettullah
Batgi,Omur Kayikci, Dicle Iskender prepared Tables 1–4. Mehmet Sinan Dal, Merih Kizil Cakar reviewed the
article before submission not only for spelling and grammar but also for its intellectual content. Emre Tekgunduz
planned methodology to reach the conclusion. Fevzi Altuntas constructed an idea for manuscript.
Additional Information
Competing Interests: e authors declare no competing interests.
Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional aliations.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or
format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Cre-
ative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. e images or other third party material in this
article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the
material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not per-
mitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the
copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
© e Author(s) 2019
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Terms and Conditions
Springer Nature journal content, brought to you courtesy of Springer Nature Customer Service Center GmbH (“Springer Nature”).
Springer Nature supports a reasonable amount of sharing of research papers by authors, subscribers and authorised users (“Users”), for small-
scale personal, non-commercial use provided that all copyright, trade and service marks and other proprietary notices are maintained. By
accessing, sharing, receiving or otherwise using the Springer Nature journal content you agree to these terms of use (“Terms”). For these
purposes, Springer Nature considers academic use (by researchers and students) to be non-commercial.
These Terms are supplementary and will apply in addition to any applicable website terms and conditions, a relevant site licence or a personal
subscription. These Terms will prevail over any conflict or ambiguity with regards to the relevant terms, a site licence or a personal subscription
(to the extent of the conflict or ambiguity only). For Creative Commons-licensed articles, the terms of the Creative Commons license used will
apply.
We collect and use personal data to provide access to the Springer Nature journal content. We may also use these personal data internally within
ResearchGate and Springer Nature and as agreed share it, in an anonymised way, for purposes of tracking, analysis and reporting. We will not
otherwise disclose your personal data outside the ResearchGate or the Springer Nature group of companies unless we have your permission as
detailed in the Privacy Policy.
While Users may use the Springer Nature journal content for small scale, personal non-commercial use, it is important to note that Users may
not:
use such content for the purpose of providing other users with access on a regular or large scale basis or as a means to circumvent access
control;
use such content where to do so would be considered a criminal or statutory offence in any jurisdiction, or gives rise to civil liability, or is
otherwise unlawful;
falsely or misleadingly imply or suggest endorsement, approval , sponsorship, or association unless explicitly agreed to by Springer Nature in
writing;
use bots or other automated methods to access the content or redirect messages
override any security feature or exclusionary protocol; or
share the content in order to create substitute for Springer Nature products or services or a systematic database of Springer Nature journal
content.
In line with the restriction against commercial use, Springer Nature does not permit the creation of a product or service that creates revenue,
royalties, rent or income from our content or its inclusion as part of a paid for service or for other commercial gain. Springer Nature journal
content cannot be used for inter-library loans and librarians may not upload Springer Nature journal content on a large scale into their, or any
other, institutional repository.
These terms of use are reviewed regularly and may be amended at any time. Springer Nature is not obligated to publish any information or
content on this website and may remove it or features or functionality at our sole discretion, at any time with or without notice. Springer Nature
may revoke this licence to you at any time and remove access to any copies of the Springer Nature journal content which have been saved.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Springer Nature makes no warranties, representations or guarantees to Users, either express or implied
with respect to the Springer nature journal content and all parties disclaim and waive any implied warranties or warranties imposed by law,
including merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose.
Please note that these rights do not automatically extend to content, data or other material published by Springer Nature that may be licensed
from third parties.
If you would like to use or distribute our Springer Nature journal content to a wider audience or on a regular basis or in any other manner not
expressly permitted by these Terms, please contact Springer Nature at
onlineservice@springernature.com
... GVHD is a severe and often lethal immunological response against host tissues, mediated by donor T cells [4,5]. Therapies for GVHD are currently limited to broad range immunosuppression and prophylactic T cell depletion strategies, however cancer relapse is still a major cause of mortality [6]. Therefore, new and better treatment options that limit GVHD but maintain the GVT effect, need to be explored. ...
Article
Full-text available
Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a curative therapy for blood cancers and other haematological disorders. However, allo-HSCT leads to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a severe and often lethal immunological response, in the majority of transplant recipients. Current therapies for GVHD are limited and often reduce the effectiveness of allo-HSCT. Therefore, pro- and anti-inflammatory factors contributing to disease need to be explored in order to identify new treatment targets. Purinergic signalling plays important roles in haematopoiesis, inflammation and immunity, and recent evidence suggests that it can also affect haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and GVHD development. This review provides a detailed assessment of the emerging roles of purinergic receptors, most notably P2X7, P2Y2 and A2A receptors, and ectoenzymes, CD39 and CD73, in GVHD.
... CP is an anti-cancer drug that is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, neuroblastoma, and other types of cancer and it is also used in transplantology 25 . Unfortunately, its action is often associated with cardiovascular side effects such as atrioventricular block, tachyarrhythmias, heart failure, and myocarditis when taken in high doses (i.e., 100-200 mg/kg) 1-6 . ...
Article
Full-text available
Cyclophosphamide (CP) is an anticancer drug, an alkylating agent. Cardiotoxicity of CP is associated with one of its metabolites, acrolein, and clinical cardiotoxicity manifestations are described for cases of taking CP in high doses. Nevertheless, modern arrhythmogenicity prediction assays in vitro include evaluation of beat rhythm and rate as well as suppression of cardiac late markers after acute exposure to CP, but not its metabolites. The mechanism of CP side effects when taken at low doses (i.e., < 100 mg/kg), especially at the cellular level, remains unclear. In this study conduction properties and cytoskeleton structure of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) obtained from a healthy donor under CP were evaluated. Arrhythmogenicity testing including characterization of 3 values: conduction velocity, maximum capture rate (MCR) measurements and number of occasions of re-entry on a standard linear obstacle was conducted and revealed MCR decrease of 25% ± 7% under CP. Also, conductivity area reduced by 34 ± 15%. No effect of CP on voltage-gated ion channels was found. Conduction changes (MCR and conductivity area decrease) are caused by exposure time-dependent alpha-actinin disruption detected both in hiPSC-CMs and neonatal ventricular cardiomyocytes in vitro. Deviation from the external stimulus frequency and appearance of non-conductive areas in cardiac tissue under CP is potentially arrhythmogenic and could develop arrhythmic effects in vivo.
... These data, in combination with other reports, reflect the continued improvement in safety of HCT due to reduction in complications [2]. The use of post-transplant cyclophosphamide in mismatched and fully matched sibling and unrelated donor HCT has led to favorable outcomes, including a low incidence and severity of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) [3,4]. Ruxolitinib and ibrutinib, effective second-line therapies for steroid-refractory acute and chronic GVHD, will likewise reduce transplant-related mortality for these patients [5,6]. ...
Article
Full-text available
... Improved reconstitution of T cell subsets and a concomitant reduction in infectious complications was also observed in the T cell replete group (85). Following its success in haploidentical allo-SCT, post-transplant cyclophosphamide has been demonstrated to provide effective GvHD prophylaxis and a good safety profile in the HLA-matched related and unrelated donor settings (86). ...
Article
Full-text available
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is the most established and commonly used cellular immunotherapy in cancer care. It is the most potent anti-leukemic therapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and is routinely used with curative intent in patients with intermediate and poor risk disease. Donor T cells, and possibly other immune cells, eliminate residual leukemia cells after prior (radio)chemotherapy. This immune-mediated response is known as graft-versus-leukemia (GvL). Donor alloimmune responses can also be directed against healthy tissues, which is known as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). GvHD and GvL often co-occur and, therefore, a major barrier to exploiting the full immunotherapeutic benefit of donor immune cells against patient leukemia is the immunosuppression required to treat GvHD. However, curative responses to allo-SCT and GvHD do not always occur together, suggesting that these two immune responses could be de-coupled in some patients. To make further progress in successfully promoting GvL without GvHD, we must transform our limited understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of GvL and GvHD. Specifically, in most patients we do not understand the antigenic basis of immune responses in GvL and GvHD. Identification of antigens important for GvL but not GvHD, and vice versa, could impact on donor selection, allow us to track GvL immune responses and begin to specifically harness and strengthen anti-leukemic immune responses against patient AML cells, whilst minimizing the toxicity of GvHD.
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the efficiency and safety of total body irradiation plus cyclophosphamide (TBI/Cy) followed by autogenetic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) in T-LBL/ALL patients that cannot receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT). Between 2013 and 2023, 24 patients received auto-HSCT following by TBI/Cy, 26 patients underwent allo-HSCT, all patients achieved completed hematopoietic reconstitution after HSCT. The progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) had no statistically significant differences between the two groups (P = 0.791, HR 1.127, 95%CI 0.456–2.785; P = 0.456, HR 0.685, 95%CI 0.256–1.828). Although the cumulative incidence of relapse was lower for patients who received allo-HSCT than auto-HSCT (P = 0.033, HR 3.707, 95%CI 1.188–11.570, 2-year relapse 11.5% vs. 33.3%), the incidence of non-relapse mortality (NRM) was higher than that in the auto-HSCT group (P = 0.014, HR 0.000, 95%CI -1.000 - -1.000, 2-year NRM, 23.1% vs. 0%). Trough Landmark analysis, the two groups showed a statistically significant difference in 3-year PFS and 4-year OS curves (Figure S2A&B, P = 0.039, HR 0.426, 95%CI 0.163–1.117; P = 0.014, HR 0.317, 95%CI 0.113–0.887). By COX analysis, poor baseline performance status (ECOG-PS ≥ 2) and CNS involvement were risk factors for PFS and OS. In conclusion, TBI/Cy followed by auto-HSCT is a good choice next to allo-HSCT for patients with T-LBL/ALL.
Chapter
Following an allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT), alloreactive donor T cells recognize host cells as foreign and get activated and secrete cytokines resulting in GVHD. To prevent GVHD, immunosuppressive medications are given post SCT, to suppress the T cell-mediated alloreactivity. An optimal GVHD prophylaxis is very important as too much immunosuppression can lead to relapse of the disease, increased risk of infections and drug toxicity whereas a lesser amount of immunosuppression increases the risk of GVHD. Preventing and treating acute GVHD is the best way to prevent chronic GVHD because acute GVHD is the most common risk factor for chronic GVHD. The combination of CSA and short-course MTX is the most common regimen for GVHD prevention. The main mechanism by which post-transplant-cyclophosphamide (PTCy) can prevent GVHD is based on the selective elimination of donor alloreactive T cells. The use of rabbit ATG in the conditioning regimen is also strongly associated with a decreased risk of both acute and chronic GVHD. Understanding the need, timing, dose, combination and duration of immunosuppression is very important for achieving the optimal outcome following allo SCT. This chapter deals in detail with the appropriate use of immunosuppression post-SCT.
Article
Introduction : Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) is a life-saving procedure for multiple types of hematological cancer, autoimmune diseases, and genetic-linked metabolic diseases in humans. Recipients of HSCT transplant are at high risk of microbial infections that significantly correlate with the presence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and the degree of immunosuppression. Infection in HSCT patients is a leading cause of life-threatening complications and mortality. Areas Covered : This review covers issues pertinent to infection in the HSCT patient, including bacterial and viral infection; strategies to reduce GVHD; infection patterns; resistance and treatment options; adverse drug reactions to antimicrobials, problems of antimicrobial resistance; perturbation of the microbiome; the role of prebiotics, probiotics, and antimicrobial peptides. We highlight potential strategies to minimize the use of antimicrobials. Expert Opinion : Measures to control infection and its transmission remain significant HSCT management policy and planning issues. Transplant centers need to consider carefully prophylactic use of antimicrobials for neutropenic patients. The judicious use of appropriate antimicrobials remains a crucial part of the treatment protocol. However, antimicrobials’ adverse effects cause microbiome diversity and dysbiosis and have been shown to increase morbidity and mortality.
Chapter
Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a reaction of donor immune cells against host tissues. It does not occur in autologous transplantation. The activated donor T-cells damage host cells after an inflammatory cascade that begins with the preparative regimen. The acute GvHD is a major obstacle for patients undergoing allo-HSCT. It principally involves the skin, gastrointestinal tract, liver, and thymus. The acute GvHD symptoms are dermatitis (skin rash), cutaneous blisters, crampy abdominal pain with or without diarrhea, persistent nausea and vomiting, and/or hepatitis. These symptoms commonly initiate on the first 100 days after allo-HSCT or later. Formerly, the acute GvHD was defined as occurring within the first 100 days following allo-HSCT and chronic GvHD as occurring after 100 days. Today, with the development of new strategies, such as reduced intensive conditioning, this definition is less clear. The nowadays’ classification includes both late acute GvHD, which occurs after 100 days, and the overlap syndrome, which contains features of both. The acute GvHD diagnosis is clinically done, and the histologic confirmation is important, especially if the symptoms are atypical or involve just the liver or gut [1].
Article
Full-text available
Background: Experience using post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) as graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis in allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from matched sibling donors (MSD) or unrelated donors (UD) is limited and with controversial results. The study aim was to evaluate PT-Cy as GVHD prophylaxis post-HSCT from MSD and UD transplants. We analyzed 423 patients with acute leukemia who received PT-Cy alone or in combination with other immunosuppressive (IS) drugs as GVHD prophylaxis. Seventy-eight patients received PT-Cy alone (group 1); 204 received PT-Cy in combination with one IS drug-cyclosporine-A (CSA) or methotrexate (MTX) or mycophenolate-mofetil (MMF) (group 2), while 141 patients received PT-Cy in combination with two IS drugs-CSA + MTX or CSA + MMF (group 3). Transplants were performed from 2007 to 2015 and median follow-up was 20 months. Results: Probability of overall survival (OS) at 2 years was 50, 52.2, and 62.4%, for the three groups, respectively, p = 0.06. In multivariate analysis, in comparison to PT-Cy alone, the addition of two IS drugs was associated with reduced risk of extensive cGVHD (HR 0.25, p = 0.02). Use of bone marrow (BM) and anti-thymocyte globulin were independently associated with reduced risk of extensive cGVHD. Prognostic factors for non-relapse mortality (NRM) were the addition of two IS drugs to PT-Cy (HR 0.35, p = 0.04), diagnosis of AML, disease status at transplant, and patient CMV serology. Factors associated with increased OS were the use of PT-Cy with two IS drugs (HR 0.49, p = 0.02), AML, and disease status at transplant. Conclusion: For GVHD prophylaxis in MSD and UD HSCT, the addition of IS drugs to PT-Cy enhances its effect and reduces the risk of severe cGVHD, reducing mortality and improving survival.
Article
Full-text available
We are reporting a modified post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-CY) regimen, for unmanipulated haploidentical marrow transplants (HAPLO), in 150 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). All patients received a myeloablative regimen, cyclosporine (CsA) on day 0, mycophenolate on day +1, and PT-CY 50 mg/kg, on days +3 and +5. The median age was 51 years (17-74), 51 patients (34%) had active disease at transplant, and the median follow up of surviving patients 903 days (150-1955). The cumulative incidence (CI) of engraftment, acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) grade II-IV and moderate/severe chronic GvHD was respectively 92%, 17% and 15%. The 4 year CI of transplant related mortality (TRM) and relapse was respectively 20% and 24%. Four year survival for remission patients was 72% (74% vs 67% for age </≥ 60 years) and 26% for advanced patients (17% vs 41% for age </≥ 60 years). In a multivariate analysis, active disease at transplant was the only negative predictor of survival, TRM and relapse. The original PT-CY regimen can be modified with CsA on day zero, still providing protection against GvHD, low toxicity, and encouraging low relapse incidence in AML patients, also over the age of sixty years.
Article
Full-text available
The optimal prophylaxis regimen for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in the setting of mismatched unrelated donor (MMUD) allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) is not defined. The use of high-dose post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) in haploidentical transplantation has proven feasible and effective in overcoming the negative impact of HLA-disparity on survival. We hypothesized that PTCy could also be effective in the setting of MMUD transplantation. We retrospectively analyzed 86 consecutive adult recipients of alloHSCT in our institution, comparing two contemporaneous groups: PTCyMMUD (n=26) vs. matched unrelated donor (MUD) (n=60). Graft source was primarily peripheral blood (92%). All PTCyMMUD were HLA 7/8 (differences in HLA-class I loci in 92% of patients), and received PTCy plus tacrolimus + mofetil mycophenolate as GVHD prophylaxis. No differences were observed between PTCyMMUD and MUD in the 100-day cumulative incidence of acute GVHD grades II-IV (31% vs. 22%, respectively, P=0.59) and III-IV (8% vs. 10%, P=0.67). There was a trend for a lower incidence of moderate/severe chronic GVHD at 1-year after PTCyMMUD in comparison with MUD (22% vs. 41%, P=0.098). No differences between PTCyMMUD and MUD were found regarding non-relapse mortality (25% vs. 18%; P=0.52) or relapse rate (11% vs. 19%, P=0.18). Progression-free survival and overall survival at 2-year were similar in both cohorts (67% vs. 54%, HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.38-1.88; P= 0.68; and 72% vs. 57%, HR 0.71; 95% CI 0.31-1.67; P=0.44, respectively). The 2-year cumulative incidence of survival free of moderate-severe chronic GVHD and relapse tended to be higher in the PTCyMMUD group (47% vs. 24%; HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.31-1.14, P=0.12). We conclude that HLA 7/8 MMUD transplantation using PTCy plus tacrolimus is a suitable alternative for those patients who lack a MUD.
Article
Full-text available
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is an effective and curative treament of different malignant and nonmalignant diseases. Early transplant-related mortality after allo-HSCT has decreased with reduced-intensity conditioning regimens and effective anti-infectious treatments, but late transplant related mortality is still a problem. Physicians are now paying more attention to late complications that may worsen the quality of life of many transplant recipients. Chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) is one of the major causes of late transplant-related mortality after allo-HSCT. This review discusses recent advances that have been made in clinical evaluation and treatment of late transplant-related complications including cGVHD. The different sites of involvement are organs, especially the skin and eye, and the gastrointestinal, endocrinologic, metabolic, renal, cardiologic, pulmonary, connective tissue and neurological systems. In addition, this review includes infections and secondary malignancies in post-transplant settings that worsen quality of life in long term follow-ups. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Article
Full-text available
Lower intensity conditioning regimens for haploidentical blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) are safe and efficacious for adult patients with hematologic malignancies. We report data for pediatric/young adult patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies (n=40) treated with nonmyeloablative haploidentical BMT with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PT/Cy) from 2003-2015. Patients received a preparative regimen of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and total body irradiation. Post-transplant immunosuppression consisted of cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, and tacrolimus. Donor engraftment occurred in 29/32 (91%), with median time to engraftment of neutrophils >500/µL of 16 days (range 13-22) and platelets >20,000/µL without transfusion of 18 days (range 12-62). Cumulative incidences of acute GVHD grades II-IV and grades III-IV at day 100 were 33% and 5%, respectively. Cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD was 23%, with 7% moderate-severe chronic GVHD according to NIH consensus criteria. Transplant related mortality (TRM) at 1 year was 13%. The cumulative incidence of relapse at 2 years was 52%. With a median follow-up of 20 months (range 3-148), 1-year actuarial overall and event-free survival are 56% and 43%, respectively. Thus, we demonstrate excellent rates of engraftment, GVHD, and TRM in pediatric/young adult patients treated with this regimen. This approach is a widely-available, safe, and feasible option for pediatric and young adult patients with high risk hematologic malignancies, including those with a prior history of myeloablative BMT and/or those with co-morbidities or organ dysfunction that preclude eligibility for myeloablative BMT.
Article
The aim of the study was to assess the risk of TRM in pediatric patients treated for malignant disorders with allogeneic HSCT, according to different risk factors. The treatment outcome was analyzed in 299 pediatric patients treated in pediatric transplant departments from 2006 to 2015. To compare the outcome, patients were analyzed all together and in groups according to the diagnosis, age at transplant, donor type, disease status, stem cell source, and pediatric TRM score. At the end of the observation time, 82 patients were alive, 82 died, of which 40 due to transplant-related reasons. The most frequently observed causes of TRM were toxic complications effecting with organ failure (38%), followed by infections (26%), PTLD (14.3%), and GvHD (16.7%). There was no statistical difference in the incidence of TRM depending on stem cell source (P = .209) and primary diagnosis (P = .301). According to TRM score, TRM was significantly higher in high-risk group (P = .006). High-risk patients had lower survival comparing to low/intermediate group (P = .0001). OS did not differ between ALL, AML, and MDS/JMML groups. The study confirmed the utility of factors included in TRM score stratification in assessing the risk of transplant procedure in pediatric patients transplanted for malignancies.
Article
Background: Incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in haploidentical bone marrow (BM) transplants using posttransplantion cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) is low, whereas GVHD using mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) ranges between 30% and 40%. Methods: To evaluate the effect of stem cell source in haploidentical transplantation with PT-Cy, we analyzed 451 patients transplanted for acute myeloid leukemia or acute lymphoblastic leukemia reported to the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Results: BM was used in 260 patients, and PBSC were used in 191 patients. The median follow-up was 21 months. Engraftment was lower in BM (92% vs 95%, P < 0.001). BM was associated with a lower incidence of stage II-IV and stage III-IV acute GVHD (21% vs 38%, P ≤ .01; and 4% vs 14%, P < .01, respectively). No difference in chronic GVHD, relapse, or nonrelapse mortality were found for PBSC or BM. The 2-year overall survival (OS) was 55% versus 56% (P = .57) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) was 49% versus 54% (P = .74) for BM and PBSC, respectively. On multivariate analysis, PBSC were associated with an increased risk of stage II-IV (hazard ratio [HR], 2.1; P < .001) and stage III-IV acute GVHD (HR, 3.8; P < .001). For LFS and OS, reduced intensity conditioning was the only factor associated with treatment failure (LFS: HR, 1.40; P = .04) and relapse (HR, 1.62; P = .02). Conclusion: In patients with acute leukemia in first or second remission receiving haploidentical transplantation with PT-Cy, the use of PBSC increases the risk of acute GVHD, whereas survival outcomes are comparable. Cancer 2018. © 2018 American Cancer Society.
Article
Introduction: Post transplant cyclophosphamide (PT/Cy) in association to other immunosuppressive agents or alone has emerged as a promising pharmacological strategy in the setting of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HCT). Its safety profile and effectiveness in reducing GvHD (acute GvHD incidence comprised between 15 and 30%, chronic GvHD 20-30% in the haploidentical setting) contributed to the spreading of this technique all over the world. Areas covered: This review summarizes the use of PT/Cy in the setting of allo-HCT, both for oncological and non-malignant hematological diseases. Recent studies showed the feasibility of more intense conditioning regimens instead of the original NMAC. The use of peripheral blood stem cells instead of bone marrow as graft source (slightly increase of acute GvHD grade 2 but no differences in survival outcomes) was another significant variation to the original protocol. Later on, PT/Cy alone or in combination with other immunosuppressive agents (ATG, sirolimus, cyclosporine) were tested in the HLA-matched donor setting where lower GvHD rates are reported (acute GvHD grade 3 of 5-10% and chronic GvHD of 10-20%) Expert commentary: The best graft source and type of donor is still ongoing. Moreover, the research of the best pharmacological partner of PT/Cy remains an open question.
Article
Post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) is the backbone of GvHD prophylaxis following haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT). PT-Cy has also been used in matched related (MRD) and unrelated (MUD) settings. It is not known whether outcomes are similar between haplo-HCT and MRD/MUD HCT when PT-Cy is used. We performed a retrospective analysis of 83 patients with AML who underwent HCT (using PT-Cy-based GvHD prophylaxis) from MRD, MUD or haploidentical donors. The groups were similar in baseline characteristics with the exception of older age in the MRD/MUD group (P=0.012). In multivariate analysis, the effect of donor type (MRD/MUD vs haploidentical) on transplant outcomes was not significant in any of the models except for faster neutrophil recovery after MRD/MUD transplants (hazard ratio: 2.21; 95% confidence interval: 1.31-3.72, P=0.002). In conclusion, we showed similar outcomes in MRD/MUD vs haploidentical HCT (except slower count recovery following haplo-HCT) when PT-Cy is used for GvHD prophylaxis. Although slower count recovery following haplo-HCT (compared with MRD/MUD transplants without PT-Cy) has been attributed to using PT-Cy, our results suggest that HLA disparity is the primary cause of this difference. Furthermore, our analysis supports PT-Cy as a viable option for GvHD prophylaxis after MRD/MUD transplants.Bone Marrow Transplantation advance online publication, 15 August 2016; doi:10.1038/bmt.2016.217.
Article
The cumulative incidence of National Institutes of Health (NIH)-defined chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) requiring systemic treatment is ∼35% at 1 year after transplantation of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-mobilized blood cells from HLA-matched related or unrelated donors. We hypothesized that high-dose cyclophosphamide given after G-CSF-mobilized blood cell transplantation would reduce the cumulative 1-year incidence of chronic GVHD to 15% or less. Forty-three patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies (median age, 43 years) were enrolled between December 2011 and September 2013. Twelve (28%) received grafts from related donors, and 31 (72%) received grafts from unrelated donors. Pretransplant conditioning consisted of fludarabine and targeted busulfan (n = 25) or total body irradiation (≥12 Gy; n = 18). Cyclophosphamide was given at 50 mg/kg per day on days 3 and 4 after transplantation, followed by cyclosporine starting on day 5. The cumulative 1-year incidence of NIH-defined chronic GVHD was 16% (95% confidence interval, 5-28%). The cumulative incidence estimates of grades 2-4 and 3-4 acute GVHD were 77% and 0%, respectively. At 2 years, the cumulative incidence estimates of nonrelapse mortality and recurrent malignancy were 14% and 17%, respectively, and overall survival was projected at 70%. Of the 42 patients followed for ≥1 year, 21 (50%) were relapse-free and alive without systemic immunosuppression at 1 year after transplantation. Thus, myeloablative pretransplant conditioning can be safely combined with high-dose cyclophosphamide after transplantation, and the risk of chronic GVHD associated with HLA-matched mobilized blood cell grafts can be substantially reduced. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01427881.