Outcomes after alemtuzumab-containing reduced-intensity allogeneic transplantation regimen for relapsed and refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma

We report the outcomes after reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation (RIT) for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 88 patients (low-grade NHL [LG-NHL], n = 41; high-grade NHL [HG-NHL], n = 37; mantle cell lymphoma [MCL], n = 10). Thirty-seven patients had previously received autografts, and 21 were in complete remission (CR) at transplantation. Conditioning therapy consisted of alemtuzumab, fludarabine, and melphalan. Sixty-five patients received peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) from HLA-identical siblings, and 23 received bone marrow (BM) from matched unrelated donors. Prophylaxis for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) consisted of cyclosporin A. Grade III-IV acute GVHD developed in 4 patients, and chronic GVHD developed in 6 patients. With a median follow-up of 36 months (range, 18-60 months), the actuarial overall survival (OS) rates at 3 years were 34% for HG-NHL, 60% for MCL, and 73% for LG-NHL (P< .001). The 100-day and 3-year transplant-related mortality (TRM) rates for patients with LG-NHL were 2% and 11%, respectively, and were better (P= .01) than they were for patients with HG-NHL (27% and 38%, respectively). The actuarial current progression-free survival (PFS) rate at 3 years, including the rate for patients who achieved remission after donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) for progression, was 65% for LG-NHL, 50% for MCL, and 34% for HG-NHL (P= .002). Twenty-one patients underwent DLI for matched related donor (MD)-persistent disease or relapse, and 15 underwent DLI for mixed hematopoietic chimerism. Patients who experienced relapses of LG-NHL and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) achieved excellent PFS with extremely low TRM and GVHD, even when matched related donors were unavailable. (Blood. 2004;104:3865-3871)