Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in adult patients with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms

BACKGROUND: In adults, the 2 main types of myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasms (MDS/MPN) are chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML). Both are associated with a poor prognosis. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the only known curative treatment modality for these diseases, but data on outcomes following such treatment are limited. We analyzed the outcomes of patients with MDS/MPN after allogeneic HCT. METHODS: This retrospective study included 10 patients with MDS/MPN who received allogeneic HCT at Asan Medical Center from 2002 to 2010. Of these 10 patients, 7 had CMML, 2 had aCML, and 1 had unclassifiable MDS/MPN. Five patients received a myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimen (busulfan-cyclophosphamide), and 5 received reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen. RESULTS: Neutrophil engraftment was achieved in all patients. After a median follow-up of 47.5 months among surviving patients, 4 had relapsed and 5 had died. There was only 1 treatment-related death. The 5-year rates of overall, relapse-free, and event-free survival were 42.2%, 51.9%, and 46.7%, respectively. Relapse was the leading cause of treatment failure, and all relapses were observed in patients who had received RIC and who did not develop chronic graft-versus-host disease. CONCLUSION: Allogeneic HCT can induce durable remission in patients with MDS/MPN, but RIC cannot replace MAC in patients eligible for myeloablative treatments.

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for acute leukemia in first relapse or second remission

BACKGROUND: The role of pre-transplant salvage chemotherapy has been controversial in relapsed acute leukemia. METHODS: We investigated post-transplant outcomes in 65 patients with acute leukemia treated with allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) during first relapse or second remission. RESULTS: The 5-year cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR) was 52.3%. Multivariate analysis for CIR revealed that patients with unfavorable cytogenetics and those not in remission at the time of HCT had a significantly high CIR (P = 0.031 and P = 0.031, respectively). Allogeneic HCT was performed in 14 patients after first relapse without salvage chemotherapy ("untreated relapse" group), 15 patients failed chemotherapy for reinduction of remission before HCT ("refractory relapse" group), and 36 patients attained second remission with salvage chemotherapy before HCT ("second remission" group). The 5-year CIR for patients in the untreated relapse group (57.1%) was higher than that for those in the second remission group (42.3%), but it was lower than that for patients in the refractory relapse group (66.7%). Among patients who underwent allogeneic HCT in relapse, those with bone marrow (BM) blasts 30%) (57.7% vs. 70.6%). CONCLUSION: Our results do not support the role of salvage chemotherapy aimed at re-induction of remission before allogeneic HCT in patients with acute leukemia after first relapse. Patients with early relapse do not appear to benefit from salvage chemotherapy before HCT.