Search

Background The use of haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT) with posttransplantation cyclophosphamide prophylaxis is gaining traction in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods The Acute Leukemia Working Party/European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry was used to evaluate the outcomes of adult patients with ALL who underwent haplo-HCT during 2011 through 2015 and compared them with the outcomes of those who underwent transplantation during 2016 through 2018. Results The analysis consisted of 195 patients, including 79 who underwent transplantation during 2011 through 2015 and 116 who underwent transplantation during 2016 through 2018. Overall, the 2-year leukemia-free survival and relapse incidence rates were 56.5% and 21%, respectively. The 100-day incidence of grade 2 through 4 acute graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) was 34.5%. The rates of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) and overall survival (OS) were 22.5% and 64.7%, respectively. Patients who underwent transplantation during 2016 through 2018 experienced improved rates of leukemia-free survival (64.9% vs 47.3%; P = .019) and OS (75.5% vs 53.5%; P = .006). Patients who underwent transplantation during 2016 through 2018 developed more grade 2 through 4 acute GVHD (42% vs 26.4%; P = .047). The incidence of relapse, GVHD-free/relapse-free survival, grade 3 and 4 acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, and extensive chronic GVHD did not differ significantly between groups. In multivariate analysis, more recently transplanted patients had a significantly reduced risk of NRM (hazard ratio, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.22-0.89; P = .022) and improved OS (hazard ratio, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.26-0.86; P = .014). A comparable analysis of patients who had acute myeloid leukemia during the same timeframes did not reveal any statistically significant differences in any outcomes. Conclusions The outcome of adult patients with ALL who receive posttransplant cyclophosphamide has improved over time, with an impressive 2-year OS of 75% and, most recently, an NRM rate of only 17%.

While evidence for measurable residual disease (MRD) is a harbinger of inferior outcome in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients referred for allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), the exact clinical trajectory of specific patient subsets in this clinical setting is undefined. Using a recently published prognostic cytogenetic model (Canaani et al. Leukemia 2019) we evaluated whether this model applied also to studies of patients with positive MRD. The analysis comprised MRD+ patients in first complete remission undergoing allo-SCT from a matched sibling donor or unrelated donor. Seven hundred and seventy-five patients were evaluated with a median follow-up duration of 22 months. Cytogenetic risk score was favorable, intermediate/FLT3wt intermediate/FLT3-ITD3, and adverse in 15%, 28.3%, 37% and 19.7% of the patients, respectively. Favorable and intermediate/FLT3wt risk patients had 2-year leukemia-free survival rates of 78% and 61%, respectively, compared with only 50% and 37% for intermediate/FLT3-ITD3 and adverse risk patients, respectively (P < .001). In multivariate analysis adverse and intermediate/FLT3-ITD3 risk patients were more likely to experience disease relapse compared with favorable risk patients [hazard ratio (HR) = 3.9, 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.1-7.3; P < .001, and HR = 4.4, CI 95%, 2.4-7.8; P < .001, respectively]. The European society for blood and marrow transplantation cytogenetic risk score is a valuable adjunct for risk stratification of MRD+ AML patients.

Haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT) is being increasingly used in acute leukemia patients as an alternative transplant modality when matched sibling or matched unrelated donors are unavailable. As several potential haploidentical relative donors are typically available for a given patient, optimizing donor selection to improve clinical outcome is crucial. The impact of donor age and kinship on the outcome of acute leukemia patients is not clearly established in this setting. Using the multinational registry of the acute leukemia working party of the European society for blood and marrow transplantation we retrospective analyzed the clinical outcome of 1270 acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who underwent haplo-HCT between 2005 and 2015. Patients over the age of 40 were significantly affected by increasing donor age resulting in higher non-relapse mortality (NRM) [Hazard ratio (HR)=1.86, confidence interval (CI) 95%, 1.18-2.94; P = .007], inferior leukemia-free survival (LFS) (HR = 1.59, CI 95%, 1.13-2.24; P = .007), and overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.74, CI 95%, 1.22-2.47; P = .002) when donors were over the age of 40. Additionally, kinship was found to be prognostically significant as patients transplanted from children donors over the age of 35 experienced an increased rate of NRM (HR = 1.82, CI 95%, 1.13-2.9; P = .01), inferior LFS (HR = 1.5, CI 95%, 1.05-2.13; P = .03), and OS (HR = 1.5, CI 95%, 1.04-2.15; P = .03). For patients younger than 40 years, donor age and kinship were mostly not clinically impactful. Our data establish donor age and kinship as significant determinants of outcome following haplo-HCT for acute leukemia patients.

The optimal conditioning regimen to employ before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is still undecided, and while cyclophosphamide/total body irradiation (Cy/TBI) is the most commonly used myeloablative regimen, there are concerns regarding long-term toxicity for patients conditioned with this regimen. Thiotepa-based conditioning is an emerging radiation-free regimen with recent publications indicative of comparable clinical outcomes to TBI-based conditioning. In this analysis of the acute leukemia working party of the EBMT, we performed a retrospective matched-pair analysis, evaluating the outcome of adult patients with ALL who received thiotepa-based conditioning (n = 180) with those receiving Cy/ TBI conditioning (n = 540). The 2-year leukemia-free survival and overall survival (OS) rates of both conditioning regimens were comparable, 33% for thiotepa [95% confidence interval (CI): 26.4-42.8] versus 39% for Cy/TBI (95% CI: 34.8-44.5] (P = .33) and 46.5% [95% CI: 38.6-56.1] versus 48.8% [95% CI: 44.2-54] (P = .9), respectively. There was no significant difference between the two regimens in the incidence of either acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) or chronic GVHD. Multivariate analysis demonstrated increased relapse incidence for thiotepa conditioning compared to Cy/TBI (HR = 1.78, 95% CI, 1.07-2.95; P = .03) which did not affect OS. Our results indicate that thiotepa-based conditioning may not be inferior to Cy/TBI for adult patients with ALL.

Up to 20% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients present initially with hyperleukocytosis, placing them at increased risk for early mortality during induction. Yet, it is unknown whether hyperleukocytosis still retains prognostic value for AML patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Furthermore, it is unknown whether hyperleukocytosis holds prognostic significance when modern molecular markers such as FLT3-ITD and NPM1 are accounted for. To determine whether hyperleukocytosis is an independent prognostic factor influencing outcome in transplanted AML patients we performed a retrospective analysis using the registry of the acute leukemia working party of the European Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation. A cohort of 357 patients with hyperleukocytosis (159 patients with white blood count [WBC] 50 K-100 K, 198 patients with WBC >= 100 K) was compared to 918 patients without hyperleukocytosis. Patients with hyperleukocytosis were younger, had an increased rate of favorable risk cytogenetics, and more likely to be FLT3 and NPM1 mutated. In multivariate analysis, hyperleukocytosis was independently associated with increased relapse incidence (hazard ratio [HR] of 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-2.12; P = .004), decreased leukemia-free survival (HR of 1.38, 95% CI, 1.07-1.78; P = .013), and inferior overall survival (HR of 1.4, 95% CI, 1.07-1.84; P = .013). Hyperleukocytosis retains a significant prognostic role for AML patients undergoing HSCT.

Background: Abnormalities in repolarization may reflect underlying myocardial pathology and play a prominent role in arrhythmogenesis The T-wave amplitude has been associated with cardiovascular outcome in patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) Additionally, T-wave amplitude is considered a predictor of arrhythmias, as well as being related to an individual’s inflammatory status. The combined influence of different variables, such as inflammation, cardiovascular risk factors and physical fitness status, on the T-wave amplitude has not been evaluated to date. The aim of this study was to identify factors that affect the T-wave amplitude. Methods: Data from 255 consecutive apparently healthy individuals included in the Tel Aviv Medical Center Inflammation Survey (TAMCIS) were reviewed. All patients had undergone a physical examination and an exercise stress test, and different inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers (fibrinogen, potassium, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein) were measured. Results: Multivariate stepwise analysis revealed that the body mass index and the resting heart rate were significantly associated with the T-wave amplitude (β =− 0.34, P < 0.001; β =− 0.19, P = 0.03, respectively) in males, while the recovery rate and the usage of statins significantly affected the T-wave amplitude in females (β = 0.36, P = 0.002; β = 0.35, P = 0.002, respectively). Inflammatory variables had no significant affect on the T-wave amplitude of either gender. Conclusions: In conclusion, the T-wave amplitude is linked to an individual’s physical fitness and not to his/her inflammatory status. Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2012;17(3):214–218 ECG; repolarization; T wave; inflammation