Editor's Choice

Inferior Outcomes with Cyclosporine and Mycophenolate Mofetil after Myeloablative Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2019 Sep;25(9):1744-1755 doi: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2019.05.019.
PICO Summary
POPULATION:

Adult patients undergoing first myeloablative haematopoietic cell transplant from an HLA-identical matched related donor (n=3979) or matched unrelated donor (n=4163)

INTERVENTION:

Matched Related Donor cohort: CSA+MMF (n=114) or 222 Tac+MMF (n=222); Unrelated Donor cohort: CSA+MMF (n=68) or Tac+MMF (n=424)

COMPARISON:

Matched Related Donor cohort: CSA+MTX (n=2252) or Tac+MTX (n=1391); Unrelated Donor cohort: CSA+MTX (n=974) or 2697 Tac+MTX (n=2697)

OUTCOME:

In the Matched Related Donor cohort, recipients of CSA+MMF had a higher incidence of acute grade 2-4 and grade 3-4 GVHD compared to Tac+MTX. The use of CSA+MMF was also associated with inferior overall survival due to higher transplant-related mortality versus Tac+MTX. In the Unrelated Donor cohort, CSA+MMF was again significantly associated with a higher incidence of grade 3-4 acute GVHD, worse overall survival, and higher treatment related mortality, compared to Tac+MTX, and other regimens.

Abstract

Combination therapy with a calcineurin inhibitor (CNI), such as cyclosporine (CSA) or tacrolimus (Tac), and methotrexate (MTX) or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is a widely used approach to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prevention. Data on the comparative effectiveness of MMF compared with MTX are limited and conflicting, however. We analyzed data from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research for adult patients undergoing first myeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) from an HLA-identical matched related donor (MRD; n = 3979) or matched unrelated donor (URD; n = 4163) using CSA+MMF, CSA+MTX, Tac+MMF, or Tac+MTX for GVHD prevention between 2000 and 2013. Within the MRD cohort, 2252 patients received CSA+MTX, 1391 received Tac+MTX, 114 received CSA+MMF, and 222 received Tac+MMF. Recipients of CSA+MMF had a higher incidence of acute GVHD grade II-IV (hazard ratio [HR], 1.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24 to 2.20; P < .001) and grade III-IV (HR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.31 to 2.83; P < .001) compared with Tac+MTX. The use of CSA+MMF was also associated with inferior overall survival (OS) (HR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.73 to 3.09; P < .001) due to higher transplantation-related mortality (TRM) (HR, 4.03; 95% CI, 2.61 to 6.23; P < .001) compared with Tac+MTX. Within the URD cohort, 974 patients received CSA+MTX, 2697 received Tac+MTX, 68 received CSA+MMF, and 424 received Tac+MMF. CSA+MMF was again significantly associated with a higher incidence of grade III-IV acute GVHD (HR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.57 to 3.42; P <0001), worse OS (HR, 2.36; 95% CI, 1.67 to 3.35; P < .001), and higher TRM (HR, 3.09; 95% CI, 2.00 to 4.77; P < .001), compared with Tac+MTX and other regimens. Thus, this large retrospective comparison of MMF versus MTX in combination with CSA or Tac demonstrates significantly worse GVHD and survival outcomes with CSA+MMF compared with Tac+MTX.

Metadata
KEYWORDS: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation; Graft-versus-host disease; Methotrexate; Mycophenolate mofetil; Myeloablative
MESH HEADINGS: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Allografts; Cyclosporine; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Graft vs Host Disease; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mycophenolic Acid; Survival Rate
Study Details
Study Design: Based on Registry Data
Transplant Type: Allogeneic
Treatment: GvHD Prophylaxis
Language: eng
Credits: Bibliographic data from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine