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Fludarabine/TBI 8 Gy versus fludarabine/treosulfan conditioning in patients with AML in first complete remission: a study from the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the EBMT
Bug, G., Labopin, M., Niittyvuopio, R., Stelljes, M., Reinhardt, H. C., Hilgendorf, I., Kröger, N., Kaare, A., Bethge, W., Schäfer-Eckart, K., et al
Bone marrow transplantation. 2023
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Abstract
The optimal reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen is a matter of debate. We retrospectively compared conditioning with fludarabine plus fractionated total body irradiation of 8 Gy (FluTBI) and fludarabine plus treosulfan 30, 36 or 42 g/m(2) (FluTreo) in 754 patients with AML above the age of 40 years undergoing an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in first complete remission (CR). After balancing patient characteristics by propensity score matching of 115 patients in each group, FluTBI was associated with a significantly lower probability of relapse compared to FluTreo (18.3% vs. 34.7%, p = 0.018) which was counteracted by a higher non-relapse mortality (NRM, 16.8% vs. 5.3%, p = 0.02). Thus, overall survival and graft-versus-host disease-free and relapse-free survival at 2 years were similar between groups (OS 66.9% vs. 67.8%, GRFS 50.3% vs. 45.6%). Univariate analysis by age group demonstrated a higher NRM exclusively in patients ≥55 years of age treated with FluTBI compared to FluTreo (27.6% vs. 5.8%, p = 0.02), while a similarly low NRM was observed in patients <55 years in both groups (6.0% vs. 4.7%, p = ns). We conclude that both conditioning regimens are effective and safe, but FluTBI may better be reserved for younger patients below the age of 55 years.
PICO Summary
Population
Adults above the age of 40 years with AML, undergoing an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in first complete remission and reported to the EBMT registry (n=754, pair matched to produce a population of 230)
Intervention
Conditioning with fludarabine plus fractionated total body irradiation of 8 Gy (FluTB, n=115)
Comparison
Conditioning with fludarabine plus treosulfan 30, 36 or 42 g/m(2) (FluTreo, n=115)
Outcome
After balancing patient characteristics by propensity score matching of 115 patients in each group, FluTBI was associated with a significantly lower probability of relapse compared to FluTreo (18.3% vs. 34.7%) which was counteracted by a higher non-relapse mortality (NRM, 16.8% vs. 5.3%). Thus, overall survival and graft-versus-host disease-free and relapse-free survival at 2 years were similar between groups (OS 66.9% vs. 67.8%, GRFS 50.3% vs. 45.6%). Univariate analysis by age group demonstrated a higher NRM exclusively in patients ≥55 years of age treated with FluTBI compared to FluTreo (27.6% vs. 5.8%), while a similarly low NRM was observed in patients <55 years in both groups (6.0% vs. 4.7%).
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Busulfan Plus Cyclophosphamide Versus Total Body Irradiation Plus Cyclophosphamide for Adults Acute B Lymphoblastic Leukemia: An Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase III Trial
Zhang, H., Fan, Z., Huang, F., Han, L., Xu, Y., Xu, N., Deng, L., Wang, S., Lin, D., Luo, X., et al
Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. 2022;:Jco2200767
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Abstract
PURPOSE It remains controversial whether busulfan-based versus total body irradiation (TBI)-based regimens have comparable outcomes in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). We investigated the efficacy and toxicity of busulfan plus cyclophosphamide (BuCy) and TBI plus cyclophosphamide (TBI-Cy) conditioning in allo-HSCT for adult standard-risk B-cell-ALL in first complete remission (CR1). PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed an open-label, randomized phase III trial at 13 hospitals in China. Eligible patients (age 14-65 years) had standard-risk ALL in CR1. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to BuCy (0.8 mg/kg four times per day on days -7 to -4 and cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg once daily on days -3 to -2) or TBI-Cy (4.5 Gy TBI on days -5 to -4 and cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg once daily on days -3 to -2). The primary end point was 2-year overall survival. Analysis was per protocol. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier: NCT02670252) and is complete. RESULTS Between January 2016 and February 2020, 275 patients were assigned to receive BuCy (273 assessed) and 275 to TBI-Cy (272 assessed). The 2-year overall survival was 76.6% (95% CI, 71.7 to 81.8) and 79.4% (74.7 to 84.4; P = .457; difference 2.9%; 95% CI, -4.1 to 9.8; P = .022), indicating noninferiority of BuCy. The 2-year relapse was 20.2% (95% CI, 15.6 to 25.1) and 18.4% (14.0 to 23.2; P = .616), and the nonrelapse mortality was 11.0% (95% CI, 7.6 to 15.0) and 11.0% (7.7 to 15.1; P = .988) in the BuCy and TBI-Cy groups, respectively. There were no differences in regimen-related toxicity, graft-versus-host disease, or late effects between the two groups. CONCLUSION The BuCy regimen has noninferior efficiency and safety as TBI-Cy (4.5 Gy × 2) for patients with adult standard-risk B cell-ALL in CR1 undergoing HLA-matched allo-HSCT.
PICO Summary
Population
People aged 14-65 years with standard-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in CR1, from 13 hospitals in China, enrolled in a randomised controlled trial (n=)
Intervention
Busulfan plus cyclophosphamide 0.8 mg/kg four times per day on days -7 to -4 and cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg once daily on days -3 to -2 (BuCy, n=275)
Comparison
Total body irradiation (TBI) plus cyclophosphamide 4.5 Gy TBI on days -5 to -4 and cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg once daily on days -3 to -2 (TBI-Cy, n=275)
Outcome
The 2-year overall survival was 76.6% (95% CI, 71.7 to 81.8) in the BuCy group and 79.4% (74.7 to 84.4; difference 2.9%; 95% CI, -4.1 to 9.8;) in the TBI-Cy group, indicating noninferiority of BuCy. The 2-year relapse was 20.2% (95% CI, 15.6 to 25.1) and 18.4% (14.0 to 23.2), and the nonrelapse mortality was 11.0% (95% CI, 7.6 to 15.0) and 11.0% (7.7 to 15.1) in the BuCy and TBI-Cy groups, respectively. There were no differences in regimen-related toxicity, graft-versus-host disease, or late effects between the two groups.
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Engraftment of Double Cord Blood Transplantation after Nonmyeloablative Conditioning with Escalated Total Body Irradiation Dosing to Facilitate Engraftment in Immunocompetent Patients
Brunstein, C. G., DeFor, T. E., Fuchs, E. J., Karanes, C., McGuirk, J. P., Rezvani, A. R., Eapen, M., O'Donnell, P. V., Weisdorf, D. J.
Transplantation and cellular therapy. 2021;27(10):879.e1-879.e3
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Abstract
To improve accrual to a randomized clinical trial of double unrelated cord blood (dUCB) versus HLA-haploidentical bone marrow (haplo-BM) transplantation, patients with less previous therapy and potentially greater immunocompetence were enrolled. To reduce the risk of graft rejection, patients randomized to receive dUCB received a higher dose of total body irradiation (TBI) (300 cGy versus 200 cGy). In this study, we investigated whether the inclusion of recipients of 300 cGy TBI influenced the trial outcomes. This was a secondary analysis of dUCB recipients, 161 who received TBI 200 cGy and 18 who received TBI 300 cGy. Fine and Gray regression was used to evaluate the effect of TBI dose on relapse and nonrelapse mortality (NRM). Cox regression was used for evaluation of neutrophil engraftment and overall survival. Patient characteristics were similar in the 2 TBI dose subgroups. The probability of neutrophil engraftment was 100% for patients who received TBI 300 cGy versus 91% (95% confidence interval, 86% to 95%) for those who received TBI 200 cGy (P = .64), which was similar after regression analysis adjusting for age, total infused nucleated cell dose, HLA matching to the patient, and comorbidity score. We also investigated whether the lower survival probability and higher cumulative incidence of NRM observed in the dUCB arm of BMT CTN 1101 could be influenced by the TBI 300 cGy patient subset. There was no significant difference in the 1-year incidences of NRM and relapse or in 1-year survival, even after adjustment in multivariate analysis. Patients in BMT CTN 1101 who received TBI 300 cGy and 200 cGy had similar engraftment and early mortality. We conclude that inclusion of a modified regimen for dUCB transplantation had no demonstrable influence on this large randomized trial.
PICO Summary
Population
Adults aged up to 70 years with acute leukaemia or lymphoma, enrolled in BMT CTN 1101 trial, and who received a double cord blood (dUCB) graft (n=179)
Intervention
Total body irradiation (TBI) conditioning 200 cGy (n=161)
Comparison
Total body irradiation (TBI) conditioning 300 cGy (n=18)
Outcome
The probability of neutrophil engraftment was 100% for patients who received TBI 300 cGy versus 91% (95% confidence interval, 86% to 95%) for those who received TBI 200 cGy, which was similar after regression analysis adjusting for age, total infused nucleated cell dose, HLA matching to the patient, and comorbidity score. We also investigated whether the lower survival probability and higher cumulative incidence of NRM observed in the dUCB arm of BMT CTN 1101 could be influenced by the TBI 300 cGy patient subset. There was no significant difference in the 1-year incidences of NRM and relapse or in 1-year survival, even after adjustment in multivariate analysis. Patients in BMT CTN 1101 who received TBI 300 cGy and 200 cGy had similar engraftment and early mortality.
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Comparison of total body irradiation versus non- total body irradiation containing regimens for de novo acute myeloid leukemia in children
Dandoy, C. E., Davies, S. M., Ahn, K. W., He, Y., Kolb, A. E., Levine, J., Bo-Subait, S., Abdel-Azim, H., Bhatt, N., Chewing, J., et al
Haematologica. 2020
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Abstract
With limited data comparing hematopoietic cell transplant outcomes between myeloablative total body irradiation (TBI) containing and non-TBI regimens in children with de novo acute myeloid leukemia, the aim of this study was to compare transplant-outcomes between these regimens. Cox regression models were used to compare transplant-outcomes after TBI and non-TBI regimens in 624 children transplanted between 2008 and 2016. Thirty two percent (n=199) received TBI regimens whereas 68% (n=425) received non-TBI regimens. Five-year non-relapse mortality was higher with TBI regimens (22% vs. 11%, p<0.0001) but relapse was lower (23% vs. 37%, p<0.0001) compared to non-TBI regimens. Consequently, overall (62% vs. 60%, p=1.00) and leukemia-free survival (55% vs. 52%, p=0.42) did not differ between treatment groups. Grade II-IV acute GVHD was higher with TBI regimens (56% vs. 27%, p<0.0001) but not chronic GVHD. The 3-year incidence of gonadal or growth hormone deficiency was higher with TBI regimens (24% vs. 8%, p<0.001) but there were no differences in late pulmonary, cardiac or renal impairment. In the absence of a survival advantage, the choice of TBI or non-TBI regimen merits careful consideration with the data favoring non-TBI regimens to limit the burden of morbidity associated with endocrine dysfunction.
PICO Summary
Population
Children with de novo acute myeloid leukaemia (n=624)
Intervention
Myeloablative conditioning regimen containing total body irradiation (TBI) (n=199)
Comparison
Non-TBI regimens (n=425)
Outcome
Five-year non-relapse mortality was higher with TBI regimens (22% vs. 11%) but relapse was lower (23% vs. 37%) compared to non-TBI regimens. Consequently, overall (62% vs. 60%) and leukemia-free survival (55% vs. 52%) did not differ between treatment groups. Grade II-IV acute GVHD was higher with TBI regimens (56% vs. 27%) but not chronic GVHD. The 3-year incidence of gonadal or growth hormone deficiency was higher with TBI regimens (24% vs. 8%) but there were no differences in late pulmonary, cardiac or renal impairment.
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Total Body Irradiation or Chemotherapy Conditioning in Childhood ALL: A Multinational, Randomized, Noninferiority Phase III Study
Peters, C., Dalle, J. H., Locatelli, F., Poetschger, U., Sedlacek, P., Buechner, J., Shaw, P. J., Staciuk, R., Ifversen, M., Pichler, H., et al
Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. 2020;:Jco2002529
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Abstract
PURPOSE Total body irradiation (TBI) before allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is efficacious, but long-term side effects are concerning. We investigated whether preparative combination chemotherapy could replace TBI in such patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS FORUM is a randomized, controlled, open-label, international, multicenter, phase III, noninferiority study. Patients = 18 years at diagnosis, 4-21 years at HSCT, in complete remission pre-HSCT, and with an HLA-compatible related or unrelated donor were randomly assigned to myeloablative conditioning with fractionated 12 Gy TBI and etoposide versus fludarabine, thiotepa, and either busulfan or treosulfan. The noninferiority margin was 8%. With 1,000 patients randomly assigned in 5 years, 2-year minimum follow-up, and one-sided alpha of 5%, 80% power was calculated. A futility stopping rule would halt random assignment if chemoconditioning was significantly inferior to TBI (EudraCT: 2012-003032-22; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01949129). RESULTS Between April 2013 and December 2018, 543 patients were screened, 417 were randomly assigned, 212 received TBI, and 201 received chemoconditioning. The stopping rule was applied on March 31, 2019. The median follow-up was 2.1 years. In the intention-to-treat population, 2-year overall survival (OS) was significantly higher following TBI (0.91; 95% CI, 0.86 to 0.95; P < .0001) versus chemoconditioning (0.75; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.81). Two-year cumulative incidence of relapse and treatment-related mortality were 0.12 (95% CI, 0.08 to 0.17; P < .0001) and 0.02 (95% CI, < 0.01 to 0.05; P = .0269) following TBI and 0.33 (95% CI, 0.25 to 0.40) and 0.09 (95% CI, 0.05 to 0.14) following chemoconditioning, respectively. CONCLUSION Improved OS and lower relapse risk were observed following TBI plus etoposide compared with chemoconditioning. We therefore recommend TBI plus etoposide for patients > 4 years old with high-risk ALL undergoing allogeneic HSCT.
Clinical Commentary
Dr. Julia Wolf, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust
What is known?
Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) provides a potential curative treatment option for paediatric patients with high risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Pre-transplant conditioning regimes with total body irradiation (TBI) have resulted in encouraging overall and relapse-free survival but may cause serious long-term side effects. As a result, several studies have investigated TBI-free regimes. A large meta-analysis (1) which included seven randomised controlled trials comparing TBI-based with chemoconditioning regimes demonstrated significantly lower treatment related mortality (TRM) but no overall survival (OS) advantage with TBI-based regimes. A further small randomised study (2) found significantly higher event-free survival (EFS) with TBI-based regimes in patients with unrelated donors, but a non-significant difference only in patients with matched sibling donors. Concerns about late effects of TBI on growth, cognitive function and secondary malignancy however remain. A single centre retrospective study (3) in paediatric ALL concluded that triosulphan based regimes were safe and efficacious while a similar review (4) in adult patients suggested that busulphan and clofarabine could provide an alternative to TBI. This paper reports on the FORUM study. It compares TBI with chemoconditioning regimes to investigate whether optimal chemoconditioning regimens could replace TBI in paediatric patients with high-risk ALL.
What did this paper set out to examine?
This is the largest randomised, controlled, open-label, international, multicentre, phase III trial comparing TBI plus etoposide with chemoconditioning (fludarabine, thiotepa and busulfan or triosulfan) in paediatric ALL to date. It investigates whether chemoconditioning is non-inferior to TBI-based regimes with the primary endpoint of OS. It is also the first study to directly and prospectively compare these regimes in terms of disease-free survival and short- and long-term adverse events. The study aimed to recruit 1000 patients.
What did they show?
Improved OS and lower relapse risk were observed following TBI plus etoposide compared with chemoconditioning. Patients ≤18 years old at diagnosis and aged 4-21 at HSCT with high risk ALL in complete morphological remission with HLA compatible related or unrelated donor were included in the study. Patients were randomised 1:1 to 12Gy TBI with etoposide versus fludarabine, thiotepa and busulfan or triosulphan conditioning. Patients were well matched for baseline characteristics and demographics. Randomisation was stopped early due significant inferiority of chemoconditioning compared with TBI-based regime.
Results
Following randomisation of 417 patients, a futility stopping rule was applied because patients receiving chemoconditioning with fludarabine, thiotepa, and busulfan or treosulfan had inferior OS to those receiving TBI plus etoposide. Two-year OS was 0.91 (95% CI, P <.0001) following TBI versus 0.75 (95% CI) following chemoconditioning. Median follow up was 2.1 years. Relapse was the commonest reason for treatment failure and out of 67 patients who relapsed, there was no difference in OS between conditioning regimes. There was no difference in serious adverse events or GvHD rates between the groups.
What are the implications for practice and for future work?
While TBI is associated with potentially serious long-term side effects, this study supports growing evidence demonstrating improved outcomes for patients undergoing TBI-based conditioning. Here patients receiving TBI-based conditioning had a significantly lower risk of relapse and TRM than those given chemoconditioning.
Of note, TRM in this trial was low compared to previously reported studies. FOCUS reported a 2-year OS and EFS rate of 0.91 and 0.91 respectively, which is the lowest documented TRM in HSCT for high-risk paediatric ALL to date. Additionally, other risk factors thought to impact on outcomes (e.g. leukaemia phenotype, MRD pre-transplant, donor type, etc) were not found to be significant in FOCUS. Only remission status (CR1 vs CR2) and conditioning regime influenced OS and EFS. This may be in part explained by the strong attempts within this study to reduce MRD prior to HSCT in all patients.
This was a noninferiority study which required a sample size of 1000 patients with 2-year minimum follow-up to make analysis of primary outcomes feasible. As the majority of relapses in paediatric ALL occur in the first 24 months, it is unlikely that longer follow up would result in dramatic changes to outcomes.
Non-randomised recruitment in FORUM to assess long-term side effects of TBI, such as secondary malignancy, in FORUM is ongoing. However, no difference in adverse events or incidence of GvHD was found between study groups. The study reports a composite end point of 2-year GVHD-free, relapse-free survival of 72% (95% CI) following TBI plus etoposide and 51% (95% CI, p= .0003) following chemoconditioning which might be a benchmark for future investigations.
PICO Summary
Population
Patients diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at or before 18 years of age, who underwent HSCT aged 4-21 years (n=413)
Intervention
TBI conditioning (n=212)
Comparison
Chemoconditioning: fludarabine, thiotepa, and either busulfan or treosulfan (n=201)
Outcome
The median follow-up was 2.1 years. In the intention-to-treat population, 2-year overall survival (OS) was significantly higher following TBI (0.91) versus chemoconditioning (0.75). Two-year cumulative incidence of relapse and treatment-related mortality were 0.12 and 0.02 following TBI and 0.33 and 0.09 following chemoconditioning, respectively.
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Higher Reported Lung Dose Received during Total Body Irradiation for Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is Associated with Inferior Survival: A Report from the Children's Oncology Group
Esiashvili, N., Lu, X., Ulin, K., Laurie, F., Kessel, S., Kalapurakal, J. A., Merchant, T. E., Followill, D. S., Sathiaseelan, V., Schmitter, M. K., et al
International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics. 2019
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Abstract
PURPOSE To examine the relationship between lung radiation dose and survival outcomes in children undergoing total body irradiation (TBI)-based hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) on Children's Oncology Group (COG) trial. PATIENTS AND METHODS TBI (1200 or 1320 cGy given twice daily in 6 or 8 fractions) was used as part of 3 HSCT preparative regimens; allowing institutional flexibility regarding TBI techniques, including lung shielding. Lung doses as reported by each participating institution were calculated for different patient setups, with and without shielding, with a variety of dose calculation techniques. The association between lung dose and transplant-related mortality (TRM), relapse-free (RFS) and overall-survival (OS) was examined using Cox proportional hazard regression model controlling for the following variables: TBI dose rate, TBI fields, patient position during TBI, donor type, and pre-HSCT minimal residual disease (MRD) level. RESULTS From a total of 143 eligible patients127 had lung doses available for this analysis. The TBI techniques were heterogeneous. The mean lung dose was reported as 904.5cGy (SD +/-232.3). Patients treated with lateral fields were more likely to receive lung doses ≥800cGy (p<0.001). Lung dose ≥800cGy influence on TRM was not significant (HR 1.78; p=0.21). On univariate analysis, lung dose ≥800cGy was associated with inferior RFS (HR 1.76; p=0.04) and OS (HR 1.85; p=0.03); in the multivariate analysis, OS maintained statistical significance (HR 1.85; p=0.04). CONCLUSION The variability in TBI techniques result in an uncertainty with reported lung doses. Lateral fields were associated with higher lung dose, hence better be avoided. Patients treated with lung dose <800 cGy in this study had better outcome. This approach is currently been investigated in COG AALL1331 study. Additionally, the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core (IROC) Group is evaluating effects of TBI techniques on lung doses using a phantom.
PICO Summary
Population
Children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation (n=143)
Intervention
TBI (1200 or 1320 cGy given twice daily in 6 or 8 fractions), given with or without shielding, using heterogeneous TBI techniques.
Comparison
Lung doses as reported by each participating institution were calculated for different patient setups.
Outcome
The mean lung dose was reported as 904.5cGy. Patients treated with lateral fields were more likely to receive lung doses >/=800cGy. Lung dose >/=800cGy influence on TRM was not significant. On univariate analysis, lung dose >/=800cGy was associated with inferior RFS and OS; in the multivariate analysis, OS maintained statistical significance. The variability in TBI techniques resulted in an uncertainty with reported lung doses. Patients treated with lung dose <800 cGy had better outcome.
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Impact of donor type in patients with AML given allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation after low-dose TBI based regimen
Baron, F., Labopin, M., Ruggeri, A., Cornelissen, J. J., Meijer, E., Sengeloev, H., Niederwieser, D., de Groot, M. R., Schouten, H. C., Milpied, N. J., et al
Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. 2018
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Abstract
PURPOSE We assessed the impact of donor type in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients transplanted with 2 Gy total body irradiation (TBI)-based nonmyeloablative conditioning regimen. Experimental Design: Data from 1715 adult patients, with AML in CR1 or CR2 were included in this retrospective survey. RESULTS Donors consisted either of HLA-matched sibling donors (MSD, n=701), 10/10 HLA-matched unrelated donors (MUD, n=611), HLA-haplo-identical donors (haplo, n=112) or single or double umbilical cord bloods (CBT, n=291). Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was less frequent in CBT (28%) and in haplo (30%) patients than in MSD (50%) and MUD (51%) recipients (P<0.001). Two-year incidence of relapse was 32%, 30%, 34% and 34% in MSD, MUD, CBT and haplo patients, respectively (P=0.7). Two-year overall (OS) and GVHD-free relapse free survival (GRFS) were 59% and 29% in MSD patients, 56% and 39% in CBT recipients, 53% and 23% in MUD recipients, and 43% and 37% in haplo patients, respectively. In multivariate analyses, MUD patients had lower GRFS than MSD patients beyond day 100 (HR 1.3, P=0.001) while CBT was associated with a better GRFS than MSD beyond day 100 (HR 0.6, P=0.002). Conclusions: In this large cohort of AML patients transplanted following low-dose TBI-based conditioning the relapse incidence was not affected by donor type suggesting that the intensity of GVL effects might be comparable with these four transplant approaches. Further, CBT was associated with better GRFS beyond day 100 than MSD while the opposite was observed for MUD.
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Reduced intensity conditioning with fludarabine, melphalan, and total body irradiation for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: the effect of increasing melphalan dose on underlying disease and toxicity
Chen, G. L., Hahn, T., Wilding, G. E., Groman, A., Hutson, A., Zhang, Y., Khan, U., Liu, H., Ross, M., Bambach, B., et al
Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 2018
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Editor's Choice
Abstract
BACKGROUND Disease relapse and toxicity are the shortcomings of reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). We hypothesized that adding total body irradiation (TBI) to and decreasing melphalan (Mel) from a base RIC regimen of fludarabine (Flu) and Mel would increase cytoreduction and improve disease control while decreasing toxicity. METHODS We performed a phase II trial of Flu 160 mg/m(2), Mel 50 mg/m(2), and TBI 400 cGy (FluMelTBI-50, n=61) followed by a second phase II trial of Flu 160 mg/m(2), Mel 75 mg/m(2), and TBI 400 cGy (FluMelTBI-75, n=94) as RIC for alloHCT. Outcomes were compared to a contemporaneous cohort of 162 patients who received Flu 125 mg/m(2) and Mel 140 mg/m(2). Eligibility criteria were equivalent for all three regimens. All patients were ineligible for myeloablative / intensive conditioning. The median (range) follow up for all patients was 51 (15-103) months. FINDINGS Day 100 donor lymphoid chimerism and transplant related mortality, neutrophil and platelet engraftment, acute and chronic graft versus host disease incidence, overall survival (OS), and progression free survival (PFS) were equivalent between FluMel, FluMelTBI-50, and FluMelTBI-75. Stomatitis was decreased for FluMelTBI versus FluMel (p<0.01). PFS for patients not in complete remission upon alloHCT was improved for FluMelTBI-75 versus FluMel (p=0.03). On multivariate analysis, OS (p=0.05) and PFS (p=0.05) were significantly improved for FluMelTBI-75 versus FluMel. INTERPRETATION FluMelTBI-75 is better tolerated than FluMel with improved survival and disease control. FUNDING National Cancer Institute (#P30-CA016056) and Roswell Park Alliance Foundation.