Search

Background: Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) includes a group of clonal myeloid neoplasms characterized by cytopenias due to ineffective hematopoiesis, abnormal blood and marrow cell morphology, and an increased risk of transformation to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only potentially curative therapeutic option for patients with MDS. Aim: To analyze the clinical features and evolution of the MDS patients who underwent to HCT in our institution. Methods: Between July 2006 to January 2021, forty-five patients with MDS underwent allogeneic HCT at the Institut Català d'Oncologia, Hospital Duran i Reynals in Barcelona. Median age at HCT was 56 years (range 35 - 69 years). Thirty-two patients (64%) were male. The diagnosis of patients according to the 2016 WHO classification was: 22% MDS-MLD, 29% MDS-EB-1, 18% MDS-EB-2, 20% CMML, 4% MDS with isolated del(5q) and 7% unclassifiable MDS. Seven patients (15%) underwent allogeneic HCT after progression to AML. Treatments received before the transplant were: chemotherapy AML-like 11 patients (24%) and Azacitidine 24 patients (53%). Ten patients (23%) underwent HCT upfront. Results: Median time from diagnosis to allogeneic HCT was 5 months (range 2 - 12 months). Donors were: matched related (MRD) 17 (38%), matched unrelated (MUD) 12 (27%) and haploidentical 16 (35%). For HLA-MRD transplants, 12 patients received busulfan and fludarabine, 2 patients received TBI and cyclophosphamide, and 3 received busulfan, cyclophosphamide and thiotepa. All of them received tacrolimus or cyclosporine with methotrexate. For HLA-MUD transplants, 7 patients received busulfan and fludarabine, 1 received busulfan and cyclophosphamide, 2 received fludarabine and melphalan, and 2 received busulfan, cyclophosphamide and thiotepa. Six patients received tacrolimus or cyclosporine with methotrexate, 3 patients received tacrolimus with sirolimus and 3 patients received posttransplant cyclophosphamide . For recipients of haploidentical transplants, 6 patients received fludarabine, busulfan and cyclophosphamide, 4 patients received busulfan, thiotepa and fludarabine, 5 patients received fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and TBI and 1 patient received TBI and cyclophosphamide. All patients received tacrolimus or cyclosporine with mycophenolate and posttransplant cyclophosphamide. Five patients (11%) received myeloablative conditioning and 40 patients (89%) received a reduced intensity conditioning regimen. According to graft soure,5 patients (11%) received bone marrow grafts and 40 patients (89%) received peripheral blood grafts. Grade II-IV acute GVHD at day +100 was observed in 19/41 patients (39%) and chronic GVHD in 15/35 patients (42%). Four patients (8%) presented veno occlusive disease. Cytomegalovirus reactivation was reported in 19/38 (50%), and possible/probable invasive fungal infection was reported in 4/49 (8.2%) patients. Median follow-up from MDS diagnosis was 47 months (range 9 - 252 months). At the time of last follow up, 23 patients (51%) are still alive. Median overall survival (OS) was 20 months (range 2 - 180 months). Median progression-free survival (PFS) after transplant was 17 months (range 3 - 180 months). No significant differences were found in OS between the donor types (P = .234) (Figure 1). However, there was a trend for improved PFS in the MRD group, with 2-year PFS of 88%, 58% and 66% for MRD, MUD, and haploidentical recipients, respectively (P = .084) (Figure 2). Summary/Conclusion: Although statistical power is limited, these data suggests that MRD should be the first choice as donor transplant. MUD and haploidentical donors are an acceptable approach for patients without an HLA-matched donor. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Mussetti: GILEAD: Other: Clinical trials participation, Research Funding; TAKEDA: Honoraria; NOVARTIS: Honoraria, Other: Clinical trials participation. Sureda: Roche: Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Bluebird: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Mundipharma: Consultancy; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Arnan: Jazz: Other: Participation in clinical trials; Takeda: Other: Participation in clinical trials; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Participation in clinical trials; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: Participation in clinical trials; Astellas: Consultancy.

Introduction: Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) are the two autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptors T cells commercially approved in Europe for relapsed/refractory (R/R) DLBCL. We performed a retrospective study to evaluate patients characteristics, efficacy and safety for axi-cel and tisa-cel in a large cohort of patients within the GETH-TC (Spanish Group of Stem Transplantation and Cell Therapy)-GELTAMO (Spanish Group of Lymphoma and Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation). Methods: Ten Spanish centers contributed data. Data were collected retrospectively from consecutive patients with DLBCL in whom apheresis was performed for axi-cel or tisa-cel treatment. CRS and ICANS were graded with the ASTCT consensus criteria. Response was assessed according to the Lugano criteria. Patients included had at least 30 days of follow-up. Results: A total of 268 patients with R/R DLBCL underwent apheresis for axi-cel (n=123) and tisacel (n=145) from Nov-2018 to May-2021, of which 232 (86%) received CART-cell infusion (n=110, 89% and n=122, 84%, respectively). Reasons for not undergoing infusion were progression in 10 cases, tumor lysis syndrome in 1, infection in 1, and CR after bridging therapy in 1 for the axi-cel cohort, and progression in 21 (4 after manufacture failure), psychiatric disorder in 1, and post-apheresis cerebral hemorrhage in 1 case for the tisa-cel cohort. Time between apheresis and infusion was 41 days (IQR 40-56) and 49 days (IQR 46-62) (p=0.006), respectively. Characteristics at baseline, apheresis and at lymphodepletion are summarized in Tables 1 and 2. Median age was 60 (range 19-79), 61% of patients were male, most of them treated for DLBCL NOS (66%). There were no significant differences between patients intended to be treated with axi-cel and tisa-cel. 82% of the infused patients received bridging therapy. At apheresis and at lymphodepletion ECOG performance status score was 0-1 in 93% and 91%, and 7 and 32 patients were in response, respectively. The overall response rates (ORRs) at 1 month and 3 months were 65% and 56%, respectively, with 34% and 45% achieving a complete response (CR), respectively. In the intention-to-treat analysis, with a median follow-up of 9 months (IQR 5-15), EFS and OS at 9 months was 44% (95%CI 38-51)(Figure 1) and 59% (95%CI 53-66) with a median EFS and OS of 6 months and 11 months, respectively. At lymphodepletion, characteristics of infused patients and disease were not significantly different between axi-cel and tisa-cel cohorts. Rates of CRS, CRS grade 3-4, ICANS, ICANS grade 3-4 were 89% and 71% (p=0.001), 10% and 7% (p=0.34), 42% and 16% (p=0.001), 20% and 4% (p=0.001) for the axi-cel and tisa-cel cohorts, respectively. ICU admission was needed in 25% and 15% of patients (p=0.06), respectively. Non-relapse mortality at days 100 were 2.5% and 1.4%, and at day 180, 5.4% and 2.2% (p=0.08) for the axi-cel and tisa-cel groups, respectively. With a median follow-up of 8 months for patients who received infusion with axi-cel and 12 months for patients infused with tisa-cel, EFS and OS at 12 months were 48% and 33% (p=0.33), and 53% and 50% (p=0.27), respectively, with a median EFS of 11 and 6 months and a median OS of 13 and 12 months, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, the only factor associated with poor PFS was having ECOG-PS ≥2 at lymphodepletion (HR13, p=0.03). No factors were identified as associated independently to OS. Factors associated to CRS grade 3-4 were IPI score 4-5 at lymphodepletion (OR 1.4, p=0.03) and ECOG-PS ≥2 at apheresis (OR 1.5, p=0.03). For ICANS grade 3-4, factors associated were the use of axi-cel (OR 8, p=0.04) and diagnosis of HG double/triple hit lymphoma (OR 9, p=0.022). Conclusions:This multicentric analysis describes one of the largest real-life cohorts of patients treated with axi-cel and tisa-cel for R/R aggressive B cell lymphoma in Europe. Results are comparable to those from the pivotal studies and other large real-life experiences. Up to now, patients included for one or other product in Spain do not differ significantly in terms of baseline characteristics, and within this setting, results are comparable between both products in terms of efficacy. The use of axi-cel was associated to higher rates of CRS and especially, severe forms of ICANS. However, mortality associated to toxicity were low and not significantly different between both cohorts. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Kwon: Novartis, Celgene, Gilead, Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria. Iacoboni: BMS/Celgene, Gilead, Novartis, Janssen, Roche: Honoraria. Reguera: Janssen, Kite/Gilead, Novartis: Speakers Bureau; BMS-Celgene, Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Lopez Corral: Gilead, Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria. Guerreiro: Novartis, Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria. Caballero: Novartis, Gilead: Honoraria. Ortiz-Maldonado: Kite, Novartis, BMS, Janssen: Honoraria. Sanchez: Janssen, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Gilead, Novartis, Amgen: Consultancy. Sancho: Roche, Janssen, Celgene-BMS, Gilead, Novartis, Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Roche, Janssen, Celgene-BMS, Gilead, Novartis, Incyte, Beigene: Speakers Bureau. Bastos-Oreiro: Janssen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; F. Hoffmann-La Roche: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; BMS-Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Gilead: Honoraria; Kite: Speakers Bureau. Oarbeascoa: Gilead: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Mussetti: Gilead: Other: Unspecified, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Other: Unspecified; Takeda: Honoraria. Bailen: Gilead, Pfizer: Speakers Bureau. Martin Garcia-Sancho: Takeda: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Celgene/BMS: Consultancy; Celgene: Honoraria, Other: travel; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel/Accommodations/Expenses; Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Servier: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel/Accommodations/Expenses; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria; Morphosys: Consultancy; Kyowa Kirin: Consultancy; Clinigen: Consultancy; Eusa Pharma: Consultancy; Kern Pharma: Other: TRAVEL, ACCOMMODATIONS, EXPENSES (paid by any for-profit health care company). Barba: Amgen, Celgene, Gilead, Incyte, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer and Roche, Jazz Phar,aceuticals: Honoraria; Cqrlos III heqlth Institute, aSOCIACION espanola contra el cancer, PERIS: Research Funding.

Introduction: Post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) is a standard GVHD prophylactic approach for haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haploHCT). Retrospective studies in patients with lymphoma showed lower chronic GVHD in haploHCT with PTCy-based GVHD prophylaxis compared to matched unrelated donor (MUD) HCT with calcineurin-based GVHD prophylaxis (+/- ATG). Recent retrospective studies showed that using MUD donors was better than haplo donors when PTCy and reduced-intensity conditioning are used for ALL, AML or MDS. However, no studies to date have compared haploHCT and MUD HCT when PTCy is used in the setting of lymphomas. Methods: 2155 adults (730 CIBMTR, 1425 EBMT) aged =/>18 years who received their first haploHCT or MUD HCT (8/8 match at HLA-loci A, B, C and DRB1) using PTCy from 2010-2019 for lymphoma were included. The majority of both MUD (n=312; 14%) and haplo (n=1843; 86%) HCTs received reduced intensity/non-myeloablative conditioning (n=1655; 77%) using a peripheral blood stem cell graft (n=1379; 64%) and a three-drug GVHD prophylaxis (PTCy + calcineurin inhibitor + MMF, n=1805; 84%). Hodgkin's lymphoma was the most common indication (n=899; 42%) followed by diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (n=525; 24%), T-cell lymphomas (n=328; 15%), mantle cell lymphoma (n=234; 11%) and follicular lymphoma (n=169; 8%). Most had chemosensitive disease at transplant (n=1781; 83%). Some main characteristics of the two cohorts are shown in Figure 1. Median follow-up among survivors was longer for haplo-HCT (36 and 31 months for the CIBMTR and EBMT cohort, respectively) than MUD-HCT (24 and 17 months, respectively). Cox proportional hazards models were built using stepwise forward and backward selection with a selection/retention threshold of 0.05. Any clinical variables that did not meet the proportional hazard assumption were adjusted for by stratification, and regression models were built to compare outcomes between donor types. Center effect was adjusted in all the models. Results: Figures 2 and 3 show the multivariate analysis results. Overall survival was 73% (71-75%) at 1 year and 65% (63-67%) at 2 years. Relapse was 21% (20-23%) at 1 year and 26% (24-28%) at 2 years. All outcomes favored MUD over haplo donors with the use of PTCy-based GVHD prophylaxis for both. Conclusions: Patients with lymphoma receiving PTCy HCT from MUDs demonstrated better outcomes than those with haplo donors in this retrospective study of CIBMTR and EBMT data Future prospective studies are needed to confirm and clarify the reasons for these differences. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Mussetti: GILEAD: Other: Clinical trials participation, Research Funding; TAKEDA: Honoraria; NOVARTIS: Honoraria, Other: Clinical trials participation. Hamadani: Janssen, Incyte, ADC Therapeutics, Omeros, Morphosys, Kite: Consultancy; Sanofi, Genzyme, AstraZeneca, BeiGene: Speakers Bureau; Takeda, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals and Astellas Pharma: Research Funding. Glass: Novartis: Consultancy; Riemser: Research Funding; Helios Klinik Berlin-Buch: Current Employment; Kite: Consultancy; Roche: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Consultancy. Blaise: Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria. Paczesny: Medical University of South Carolina: Patents & Royalties: inventor on the ST2 bispecific antibody patent application. Dreger: Novartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Riemser: Consultancy, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Consultancy; Bluebird Bio: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Roche: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Lee: AstraZeneca: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Janssen: Other; Kadmon: Research Funding; National Marrow Donor Program: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Syndax: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Amgen: Research Funding. Sureda: BMS/Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel, Speakers Bureau; Bluebird: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; MSD: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Mundipharma: Consultancy; Roche: Other: Support for attending meetings and/or travel; GSK: Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau.

Introducing post-transplant, cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis in the setting of haploidentical donor transplantation has marked the most important advance in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) within the past 15 years. The efficacy of this procedure and its simple features have allowed for the significantly widespread application of alloHCT worldwide. Indeed, the procedure’s effectiveness in reducing immunological complications in the haploidentical setting has even challenged the status quo use of calcineurin-inhibitor, methotrexate-based GVHD prophylaxis in the setting of HLA-identical donors. Currently, however, prospective clinical trials in support of PT-Cy-based GVHD prophylaxis in the HLA-matched setting are striving to resolve the matter of its potential role. This review will briefly report the overall outcomes of PT-Cy-based GVHD prophylaxis in the haploidentical setting and summarize results obtained in the HLA-identical field. We will present future perspectives at the end of the manuscript.

We evaluated 71 patients treated with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) for multiple myeloma (MM). Forty-three patients (61%) received allo-HCT after the first line of therapy. Fifty-eight patients (82%) had chemosensitive disease at the time of allo-HCT. A HLA-matched related or unrelated donor was available for 68 patients (96%). Non-myeloablative or reduced-intensity conditioning regimen and peripheral blood hematopoietic cells as a graft source were used in most patients. The cumulative incidence of grade II–IV acute GVHD at day +100 and chronic GVHD at 5 years was 13% (95% CI 7–23%) and 35% (95% CI 24–46), respectively. Non-relapse mortality and relapse/progression incidence at 5 years were 12% (95% CI 5–23) and 65% (95% CI 49–76), respectively. With a median follow-up in survivors of 100 months (range 16–186), the 5-year PFS and OS were 39% (95% CI 27–52) and 60% (95% CI 55–77), respectively. On multivariate analysis: age >55 years was associated with both a reduced PFS (RR 2.11, 95% CI 1.15–3.87) and OS (RR 5.53, 95% CI 2.22–13.76); chemorefractory disease at allo-HCT was associated with both reduced PFS (RR 3.09, 95% CI 1.37–7.00) and OS (RR 3.19, 95% CI 1.23–8.22). At relapse, 24 patients (56%) received bortezomib, 28 (65%) lenalidomide, 11 (26%) pomalidomide, 16 (37%) donor lymphocytes infusion as part of salvage therapy after allo-HCT relapse. Median PFS from time of salvage treatment was 7 months (range 0–113 months) for bortezomib-based therapy, 14 months (range 0–79 months) for lenalidomide and 10 months (range 1–28) for pomalidomide. Allo-HCT is a feasible and effective strategy in selected patients with MM and could be an effective platform for subsequent therapies.

The treatment of patients with refractory/relapsed B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is evolving because of the availability of novel drugs. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) can be curative, but its morbidity and mortality remain a matter of concern. We conducted a multicenter prospective phase II trial to evaluate the benefit of including only 1 dose of rituximab in the conditioning regimen before alloSCT. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. The study enrolled 121 patients with relapsed/refractory B cell lymphomas. The conditioning regimen consisted of thiotepa, cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, and rituximab (500 mg/m2). Rabbit antithymocyte globulin was administered only in case of unrelated donors. Sixty-seven (55%) and 54 (45%) patients received grafts from related and unrelated donors, respectively. The crude cumulative incidence (CCI) of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) was 21% at 3 years. The CCIs of chronic graft-verus-host disease (GVHD) at 3 years were 54% and 31% in recipients of matched sibling and unrelated grafts, respectively. At a median follow-up of 41 months, the estimated 3-year progression-free and overall survival were 50% and 61%, respectively. Long-term outcome was also evaluated with the composite endpoint of GVHD-free and relapse-free survival (GRFS). This is the first work evaluating the GRFS in a prospective trial of lymphoma patients: the 1-year and 3-year GRFS were 40% and 34%, respectively. AlloSCT can cure a fraction of patients with rather low NRM and an encouraging PFS and GRFS.

BACKGROUND The authors describe a family with a high penetrance of plasma cell dyscrasias, suggesting inheritance of an autosomal dominant risk allele. METHODS The authors performed whole-exome sequencing and reported on a combined approach aimed at the identification of causative variants and risk loci, using the wealth of data provided by this approach. RESULTS The authors identified gene mutations and single-nucleotide polymorphisms of potential significance, and pinpointed a known risk locus for myeloma as a potential area of transmissible risk in the family. CONCLUSIONS To the authors' knowledge, the current study is the first to provide a whole-exome sequencing approach to such cases, and a framework analysis that could be applied to further understanding of the inherited risk of developing plasma cell dyscrasias. Cancer 2017. © 2017 American Cancer Society.

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.

The effects of graft or donor characteristics in haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) using post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) are largely unknown. In this multicenter retrospective study we analyzed the correlations between graft cell composition (CD34+, CD3+) and donor features on transplant outcomes in 234 patients who underwent HCT between 2010 and 2016. On multivariate analysis, the use of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) was associated with an increased incidence of grade 2–4 acute GVHD [HR 1.94, 95% confidence Interval (CI) = 1.01–3.98, p = 0.05]. An elevated CD3+ graft content was associated with an increased incidence of all-grade chronic GVHD [HR 1.36 (95% CI = 1.06–1.74), p = 0.01]. This effect was confirmed only for the PBSC graft group. A higher CD34+ graft content had a protective role on non-relapse mortality [HR 0.78 (95% CI = 0.62–0.96), p = 0.02] but this was confirmed only for the bone marrow (BM)-derived graft cohort. Donor characteristics did not influence any outcomes. GVHD prophylaxis should be modulated accordingly to CD3+ graft content, especially when a PBSC graft is used. These results need further validation in prospective trials.

Street trees are more and more regarded as an effective measure to reduce excessive heat in urban areas. However, the vast majority of mesoscale urban climate models do not represent street trees in an explicit manner and, for example, do not take the important effect of shading by trees into account. In addition, urban canopy models that take interactions of trees and urban fabrics directly into account are usually limited to the street or neighbourhood scale and hence cannot be used to analyse the citywide effect of urban greening. In order to represent the interactions between street trees, urban elements and the atmosphere in realistic regional weather and climate simulations, we coupled the Building Effect Parameterisation with Trees (BEP-Tree) vegetated urban canopy model and the Consortium for Small-scale Modeling (COSMO) mesoscale weather and climate model. The performance and applicability of the coupled model, named COSMO-BEP-Tree, are demonstrated over the urban area of Basel, Switzerland, during the heatwave event of June–July 2015. Overall, the model compared well with measurements of individual components of the surface energy balance and with air and surface temperatures obtained from a flux tower, surface stations and satellites. Deficiencies were identified for nighttime air temperature and humidity, which can mainly be traced back to limitations in the simulation of the nighttime stable boundary layer in COSMO. The representation of street trees in the coupled model generally improved the agreement with observations. Street trees produced large changes in simulated sensible and latent heat flux, and wind speed. Within the canopy layer, the presence of street trees resulted in a slight reduction in daytime air temperature and a very minor increase in nighttime air temperature. The model was found to realistically respond to changes in the parameters defining the street trees: leaf area density and stomatal conductance. Overall, COSMO-BEP-Tree demonstrated the potential of (a) enabling city-wide studies on the cooling potential of street trees and (b) further enhancing the modelling capabilities and performance in urban climate modelling studies., Geoscientific Model Development, 13 (3), ISSN:1991-9603, ISSN:1991-959X

Classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) patients with relapsed or refractory disease may benefit from allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), but many lack a matched sibling donor (MSD). Herein, we compare outcomes of 2 reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) HCT platforms in cHL: T cell-replete related donor haploidentical (haplo) HCT with a post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy)-based approach versus an MSD/calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based approach. The study included 596 adult patients who underwent a first RIC allo-HCT for cHL between 2008 and 2016 using either a haplo-PTCy (n = 139) or MSD/CNI-based (n = 457) approach. Overall survival (OS) was the primary endpoint. Secondary endpoints included acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD), nonrelapse mortality (NRM), relapse/progression, and progression-free survival (PFS). On multivariate analysis, there was no significant difference between haplo/PTCy and MDS/CNI-based approaches in terms of OS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], .79 to 1.45; P = .66) or PFS (HR, .86; 95% CI, .68 to 1.10; P = .22). Haplo/PTCy was associated with a significantly higher risk of grades II to IV aGVHD (odds ratio [OR], 1.73, 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.59; P = .007), but the risk of grades III to IV aGVHD was not significantly different between the 2 cohorts (OR, .61; 95% CI, .29 to 1.27; P = .19). The haplo/PTCy platform provided a significant reduction in cGVHD risk (HR, .45; 95% CI, .32 to .64; P < .001), and a significant reduction in relapse risk (HR, .74; 95% CI, .56 to .97; P = .03). There was a statistically nonsignificant trend toward higher NRM with a haplo/PTCy approach (HR, 1.65; 95% CI, .99 to 2.77; P = .06). Haplo/PTCy-based approaches are associated with lower incidences of cGVHD and relapse, with PFS and OS outcomes comparable with MSD/CNI-based approaches. There was a leaning toward higher NRM with a haplo/PTCy-based platform. These data show that haplo/PTCy allo-HCT in cHL results in survival comparable with MSD/CNI-based allo-HCT.

Street trees are more and more regarded as a potential measure to mitigate the excessive heat due to climate change and the urban heat island effect. Nevertheless, several aspects of the impact of street trees on the urban climate have still to be investigated, especially at the scale of an entire city. In fact, the vast majority of large-scale urban climate models only represent vegetation outside the street canyon, neglecting important effects such as the shading of trees on the canyon’s surfaces. In this thesis, this gap was addressed by coupling a regional climate model to an urban canopy model with explicit representation of street trees. First, the ability of a coupled urban climate model to represent the intra-urban climate variability was explored. Small-scale features such as urban parks and large railway areas started to be resolved at sub-kilometre grid spacing allowing a better representation of the urban heterogeneity. In order to represent the interactions between street trees, urban elements and the atmosphere in realistic regional weather and climate simulations, we coupled the vegetated urban canopy model BEP-Tree and the mesoscale weather and climate model COSMO. The performance and applicability of the coupled model, named COSMO-BEP-Tree, are demonstrated over the urban area of Basel, Switzerland, during the heatwave event of June-July 2015. Overall, the model compared well with measurements of individual components of the surface energy balance and with air and surface temperatures obtained from a flux tower, surface stations and satellites. The representation of street trees in the coupled model generally improved the agreement with observations. Street trees were found to moderately reduce the 2-m air temperature during the day, but to produce a slight warming at night. The daytime cooling was found to be primarily a local effect and proportional to the local density of street trees. In contrast, the impact was more widespread at night. Apart from the air temperature, street trees reduced the wind speed and altered the canyon surface temperature substantially. Owing to these secondary effects, street trees produced a larger impact on the outdoor thermal comfort than on air temperature. Street trees generally reduced the thermal comfort during the day, where the urban area reached "strong" to "very strong" heat stress conditions. At night, street trees increased the perceived temperature substantially. Nevertheless, the conditions were still within the "no thermal stress" category. Compared to the application of cool (highly reflective) roofs, street trees were found to provide larger benefits in terms of thermal comfort than in terms of air temperature reduction. When applied together, the effects of street trees and cool roofs added up to a remarkable reduction in air temperature.

Background Gram-negative bacteremia (GNB) is a major cause of illness and death after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and updated epidemiological investigation is advisable. Methods We prospectively evaluated the epidemiology of pre-engraftment GNB in 1118 allogeneic HSCTs (allo-HSCTs) and 1625 autologous HSCTs (auto-HSCTs) among 54 transplant centers during 2014 (SIGNB-GITMO-AMCLI study). Using logistic regression methods. we identified risk factors for GNB and evaluated the impact of GNB on the 4-month overall-survival after transplant. Results The cumulative incidence of pre-engraftment GNB was 17.3% in allo-HSCT and 9% in auto-HSCT. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common isolates. By multivariate analysis, variables associated with GNB were a diagnosis of acute leukemia, a transplant from a HLA-mismatched donor and from cord blood, older age, and duration of severe neutropenia in allo-HSCT, and a diagnosis of lymphoma, older age, and no antibacterial prophylaxis in auto-HSCT. A pretransplant infection by a resistant pathogen was significantly associated with an increased risk of posttransplant infection by the same microorganism in allo-HSCT. Colonization by resistant gram-negative bacteria was significantly associated with an increased rate of infection by the same pathogen in both transplant procedures. GNB was independently associated with increased mortality at 4 months both in allo-HSCT (hazard ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.45–3.13; P Conclusions Pre-engraftment GNB is an independent factor associated with increased mortality rate at 4 months after auto-HSCT and allo-HSCT. Previous infectious history and colonization monitoring represent major indicators of GNB. Clinical Trials registration NCT02088840.

Introduction: Novel targeted therapies and monoclonal antibodies can be combined with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) at different time-points: 1) before the transplant to reduce tumour burden, 2) as part of the conditioning in place of or in addition to conventional agents 3) after the transplant to allow long-term disease control. Areas covered: This review focuses on the current integration of new drugs with allo-SCT for the treatment of major hematological malignancies for which allo-SCT has been a widely-adopted therapy. Expert opinion: After having been used as single agent salvage treatments in relapsed patients after allo-SCT or in combination with donor lymphocyte infusions, many new drugs have also been safely employed before allo-SCT as a bridge to transplantation or after it as planned consolidation/maintenance. This era of new drugs has opened new important opportunities to ‘smartly’ combine ‘targeted drugs and cell therapies’ in new treatment paradigms that may lead to higher cure rates or longer disease control in patients with hematological malignancies.

Nonmalignant hematologic disorders (NMHD) of childhood comprise a variety of disorders, including acquired severe aplastic anemia and inherited marrow failure syndromes. Patients with high-risk NMHD without matched related donors fare poorly with allogeneic hematopoietic alternative donor stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and are at high risk for developing graft-versus-host disease following unmodified grafts. The authors retrospectively analyzed data on 18 patients affected by NMHD, lacking a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical sibling donor, who underwent an alternative donor allo-HSCT at their institution between April 2005 and May 2013. Fifty percent of the patients had received prior immunosuppressive therapy, 72% had a history of infections, and 56% were transfusion dependent at the time of transplant. Cytoreduction included a combination of 3 of 5 agents: fludarabine, melphalan, thiotepa, busulfan, and cyclophosphamide. Grafts were T-cell depleted. All evaluable patients engrafted. Five died of transplant complications. The cumulative incidence of graft-versus-host disease was 6%. No patient had recurrence of disease. Five-year overall survival was 77%. Age at transplant

We evaluated 917 adult lymphoma patients who received haploidentical (n = 185) or HLA-matched unrelated donor (URD) transplantation either with (n = 241) or without antithymocyte globulin (ATG; n = 491) following reduced-intensity conditioning regimens. Haploidentical recipients received posttransplant cyclophosphamide-based graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis, whereas URD recipients received calcineurin inhibitor-based prophylaxis. Median follow-up of survivors was 3 years. The 100-day cumulative incidence of grade III-IV acute GVHD on univariate analysis was 8%, 12%, and 17% in the haploidentical, URD without ATG, and URD with ATG groups, respectively (P = .44). Corresponding 1-year rates of chronic GVHD on univariate analysis were 13%, 51%, and 33%, respectively (P < .001). On multivariate analysis, grade III-IV acute GVHD was higher in URD without ATG (P = .001), as well as URD with ATG (P = .01), relative to haploidentical transplants. Similarly, relative to haploidentical transplants, risk of chronic GVHD was higher in URD without ATG and URD with ATG (P < .0001). Cumulative incidence of relapse/progression at 3 years was 36%, 28%, and 36% in the haploidentical, URD without ATG, and URD with ATG groups, respectively (P = .07). Corresponding 3-year overall survival (OS) was 60%, 62%, and 50% in the 3 groups, respectively, with multivariate analysis showing no survival difference between URD without ATG (P = .21) or URD with ATG (P = .16), relative to haploidentical transplants. Multivariate analysis showed no difference between the 3 groups in terms of nonrelapse mortality (NRM), relapse/progression, and progression-free survival (PFS). These data suggest that reduced-intensity conditioning haploidentical transplantation with posttransplant cyclophosphamide does not compromise early survival outcomes compared with matched URD transplantation, and is associated with significantly reduced risk of chronic GVHD.

This study was conducted to compare long-term outcomes in patients with refractory/relapsed grades 1 and 2 follicular lymphoma (FL) after allogeneic (allo) versus autologous (auto) hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in the rituximab era. Adult patients with relapsed/refractory grades 1 and 2 FL undergoing first reduced-intensity allo-HCT or first autograft during 2000 to 2012 were evaluated. A total of 518 rituximab-treated patients were included. Allo-HCT patients were younger and more heavily pretreated, and more patients had advanced stage and chemoresistant disease. The 5-year adjusted probabilities, comparing auto-HCT versus allo-HCT groups for nonrelapse mortality (NRM) were 5% versus 26% (P < .0001); relapse/progression: 54% versus 20% (P < .0001); progression-free survival (PFS): 41% versus 58% (P < .001), and overall survival (OS): 74% versus 66% (P = .05). Auto-HCT was associated with a higher risk of relapse/progression beyond 5 months after HCT (relative risk [RR], 4.4; P < .0001) and worse PFS (RR, 2.9; P < .0001) beyond 11 months after HCT. In the first 24 months after HCT, auto-HCT was associated with improved OS (RR, .41; P < .0001), but beyond 24 months, it was associated with inferior OS (RR, 2.2; P = .006). A landmark analysis of patients alive and progression-free at 2 years after HCT confirmed these observations, showing no difference in further NRM between both groups, but there was significantly higher risk of relapse/progression (RR, 7.3; P < .0001) and inferior PFS (RR, 3.2; P < .0001) and OS (RR, 2.1; P = .04) after auto-HCT. The 10-year cumulative incidences of second hematological malignancies after allo-HCT and auto-HCT were 0% and 7%, respectively. Auto-HCT and reduced-intensity–conditioned allo-HCT as first transplantation approach can provide durable disease control in grades 1 and 2 FL patients. Continued disease relapse risk after auto-HCT translates into improved PFS and OS after allo-HCT in long-term survivors.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) represents a treatment option for multiple myeloma (MM) patients. As shown in several studies, alloHCT is highly effective, but it is hampered by a high toxicity, mainly related to the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a complex immunological reaction ascribable to the donor’s immune system. The morbidity and mortality associated with GVHD can weaken the benefits of this procedure. On the other side, the high therapeutic potential of alloHCT is also related to the donor’s immune system, through immunological activity known as the graft-versus-myeloma effect. Clinical research over the past two decades has sought to enhance the favorable part of this balance, along with the reduction in treatment-related toxicity. Frontline alloHCT showed promising results and a potential for a cure in the past. Currently, thanks to the improved results of first-line therapies and the availability of effective second- or third-line salvage therapies, alloHCT is reserved for selected high-risk patients and is considered a clinical option. For donor lymphocyte infusion, bortezomib or lenalidomide have been used as consolidation or maintenance therapies post-transplant—none has become standard of care. For those patients who relapse, the best treatment should be evaluated considering the patient’s clinical status and the previous lines of therapy. The use of newer drugs, such as monoclonal antibodies or other immunotherapies in the post-transplant setting, deserves further investigation. However, acceptable toxicity and a synergic effect with the newer immune system could be hopefully expected.

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed in the open-source CFD toolbox OpenFOAM for studying microscale urban flows during periods of weak synoptic forcing. The OpenFOAM model is coupled to the regional atmospheric model COSMO to provide boundary conditions for atmospheric variables. The urban canopy model DCEP is used to calculate surface energy balance and estimate the surface temperature boundary conditions. The proposed coupled model was tested for simulations of urban flows in a dense urban area of Zurich, Switzerland during a heatwave day and a day with strong background regional winds. It is shown that the coupled OpenFOAM model can qualitatively resolve small scale unsteady buoyant flows induced by heated buildings and water bodies. Comparing with the observation measurement, the coupled OpenFOAM model and COSMO can predict diurnal temperature with small errors for both sample days. For the wind speed and the wind direction, the errors of both models are higher on the heatwave day, due to the presence of unsteady buoyant flows. It is concluded that to obtain quantitatively accurate results, several improvements in transport models, surface fluxes, coupling strategies, etc. are needed. In addition, the results should be compared comprehensively with a well-located network of sensors.

The majority of Hodgkin lymphoma patients are now cured with conventional first-line therapy; however, 10–15% of early-stage disease and less than 30% of advanced-stage patients are refractory(rare) or relapsed. Salvage second-line therapy combined with high-dose therapy and autologous stem-cell transplantation can cure 40–50% of patients. Recently novel agents (Brentuximab Vedotin and Immune Checkpoint inhibitors) have demonstrated evidence of therapeutic activity and are potential bridge to an allogeneic stem-cell transplantation. The review is aimed to present not only salvage strategies; indeed, the paper contains paragraphs about therapy and new treatment options at diagnosis.

Assessment with 18F-fluorodeoxy glucose (FDG)–positron emission tomography (PET) before hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for lymphoma may be prognostic for outcomes. Patients with chemotherapy-sensitive non–Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) undergoing allogeneic HCT reported to the Center of International Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry between 2007 and 2012 were included. Pre-HCT PET status (positive versus negative) was determined by the reporting transplantation centers. We analyzed 336 patients; median age was 55 years and 60% were males. Follicular lymphoma (n = 104) was more common than large cell (n = 85), mantle cell (n = 69), and mature natural killer or T cell lymphoma (n = 78); two thirds of the cohort received reduced-intensity conditioning; one half had unrelated donor grafts. Patients underwent PET scanning a median of 1 month (range, .07 to 2.83 months) before HCT; 159 were PET positive and 177 were PET negative. At 3 years, relapse/progression, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in PET-positive versus PET-negative groups were 40% versus 26%; P = .007; 43% versus 47%; P = .47; and 58% versus 60%; P = .73, respectively. On multivariate analysis, a positive pretransplantation PET was associated with an increased risk of relapse/progression (risk ratio [RR], 1.86; P = .001) but was not associated with increased mortality (RR, 1.29, 95% confidence interval [CI], .96 to 1.7; P = .08), therapy failure (RR, 1.32; 95% CI, .95 to 1.84; P = .10), or nonrelapse mortality (RR, .75; 95% CI, .48 to 1.18; P = .22). PET status conferred no influence on graft-versus-host disease. A positive PET scan before HCT is associated with increased relapse risk but should not be interpreted as a barrier to a successful allograft. PET status does not appear to predict survival after allogeneic HCT for NHL.