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Optimizing diagnostic methods and stem cell transplantation outcomes in pediatric bone marrow failure: a 50-year single center experience
Vissers, L., van der Burg, M., Lankester, A., Smiers, F., Mohseny, A.
European journal of pediatrics. 2023
Abstract
Peripheral blood cytopenia, a frequent presenting symptom in pediatric patients, can be caused by bone marrow failure (BMF). Timely identification of patients with non-reversible BMF is of crucial importance to reduce the risks of invasive infections and bleeding complications. Most pediatric patients with severe persistent cytopenia, independent of the underlying cause, are offered allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as curative therapy. Here we report on our management guidelines and HSCT outcomes of pediatric BMF patients to pinpoint improvements and future challenges. We formulated recommendations based on this 50 years' experience, which were implemented at our center in 2017. By analysis of the HSCT cohort of 2017-2023, the 5-year outcome data is presented and compared to historical outcome data. In addition, outcomes of patients transplanted for identified inherited bone marrow failure syndromes (IBMFS) are compared to severe aplastic anemia (SAA) outcomes to underline the often multiorgan disease in IBMFS with implications for long-term survival. Survival of pediatric patients with irreversible BMF has improved tremendously. SAA patients transplanted after 2017 had a superior 5-year overall (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) of 97% and 85% compared to 68% and 59% in the cohort transplanted before 2017 (p = 0.0011 and p = 0.017). A similar trend was seen for BMF, with an OS and EFS of 89% for those transplanted after 2017 compared to 62% and 59% (p > 0.05). This improvement is mainly related to better survival in the first months after HSCT. The long-term survival after HSCT is lower in IBMFS patients as compared to SAA patients due to secondary malignancies and multiorgan toxicity. Conclusion: Unbiased protocolized in-depth diagnostic strategies are crucial to increase the frequency of identifiable causes within the heterogeneous group of pediatric BMF. A comprehensive approach to identify the cause of BMF can prevent treatment delay and be useful to tailor treatment and follow-up protocols. What is Known: • Irreversible BMF in pediatric patients can be caused by a wide spectrum of underlying diseases including (pre)malignant disease, IBMFS and AA. Identifying the exact underlying cause of BMF is crucial for tailored therapy, however often challenging and time-consuming. • Frontline allogeneic HSCT is offered to most pediatric patients with severe BMF as curative treatment. What is New: • Protocolized unbiased diagnostics, short time to treatment (< 3 months) and maximal supportive care until curative treatment can prevent complications with a negative effect on survival such as infection and bleeding. • Personalized follow-up protocols for IBMFS patients are essential to prevent a second decline in survival due to long-term treatment toxicity and extra-hematological disease complications.
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Decision making on HSCT in patients with hemoglobinopathies; an EBMT Pediatric Diseases Working Party and Inborn Errors Working Party scenario-based survey on physicians' perspectives
Mekelenkamp, H., de Vries, M., Markovitch, B., Sirait, T., Pieterse, A. H., Bense, J., Kleinschmidt, K., Albert, M. H., Neven, B., Corbacioglu, S., et al
Bone marrow transplantation. 2023
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Hoping for a normal life: Decision-making on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation by patients with a hemoglobinopathy and their caregivers
Mekelenkamp, H., de Vries, M., Saalmink, I., Nur, E., Kerkhoffs, J. L., Heijboer, H., Cnossen, M., Lankester, A., Smiers, F.
Pediatric blood & cancer. 2023;:e30808
Abstract
BACKGROUND To provide insight into the perspectives of children and young adults with transfusion-dependent thalassemia and sickle cell disease and their caregivers regarding the decision for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). PROCEDURE A qualitative longitudinal multicenter study. Data collection consisted of 40 audio-recorded conversations between physicians and families and 77 interviews with patients and/or caregivers related to 27 unique cases, collected at different time points throughout the decision-making process. RESULTS Conversations and interviews revealed "hoping for a normal life" as an overarching theme, consisting of four main topics: (i) "Building a frame of reference" refers to a process where patients or families try to obtain comprehensive information on HSCT and translate this to their situation to decide. (ii) "Balancing between loss and benefit" reports the process of considering the advantages and disadvantages of continuing with supportive care to treat their disease versus choosing HSCT. (iii) "Experiencing the impact of HSCT" describes the impactfull experience of the HSCT period by those who chose HSCT. (iv) "Balancing again" refers to reflecting on the decision made. CONCLUSIONS The hope for a normal life guided the decision-making process, described as a constant balance between the impact of the disease and HSCT. A structured approach to explore patients' and caregivers' perspectives on HSCT decision-making is needed, where specifically discussing the impact of the disease and hope for a normal life need to be integrated in the process.
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Busulfan-fludarabine- or treosulfan-fludarabine-based myeloablative conditioning for children with thalassemia major
Lüftinger, R., Zubarovskaya, N., Galimard, J. E., Cseh, A., Salzer, E., Locatelli, F., Algeri, M., Yesilipek, A., de la Fuente, J., Isgrò, A., et al
Annals of hematology. 2022
Abstract
Significant advances in supportive care for patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major (TDT) have improved patients' life expectancy. However, transfusion-associated iron overload remains a significant barrier to long-term survival with good quality of life. Today, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the current curative standard of care. Alongside selection of the best available donor, an optimized conditioning regimen is crucial to maximize outcomes for patients with TDT undergoing HSCT. The aim of this retrospective analysis was to investigate the role of busulfan-fludarabine-based and treosulfan-fludarabine-based conditioning in TDT patients undergoing HSCT. We included 772 patients registered in the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) database who underwent first HSCT between 2010 and 2018. Four hundred ten patients received busulfan-fludarabine-based conditioning (median age 8.6 years) and 362 patients received treosulfan-fludarabine-based conditioning (median age 5.7 years). Patient outcomes were retrospectively compared by conditioning regimen. Two-year overall survival was 92.7% (95% confidence interval: 89.3-95.1%) after busulfan-fludarabine-based conditioning and 94.7% (95% confidence interval: 91.7-96.6%) after treosulfan-fludarabine-based conditioning. There was a very low incidence of second HSCT overall. The main causes of death were infections, graft-versus-host disease, and rejection. In conclusion, use of busulfan or treosulfan as the backbone of myeloablative conditioning for patients with TDT undergoing HSCT resulted in comparably high cure rates. Long-term follow-up studies are warranted to address the important issues of organ toxicities and gonadal function.
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Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I and III
Bakhtiar, S., Salzmann-Manrique, E., Blok, H. J., Eikema, D. J., Hazelaar, S., Ayas, M., Toren, A., Goldstein, G., Moshous, D., Locatelli, F., et al
Blood advances. 2021;5(1):262-273
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Abstract
Type I and III leukocyte adhesion deficiencies (LADs) are primary immunodeficiency disorders resulting in early death due to infections and additional bleeding tendency in LAD-III. The curative treatment of LAD-I and LAD-III is allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). In this retrospective multicenter study, data were collected using the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry; we analyzed data from 84 LAD patients from 33 centers, all receiving an allo-HSCT from 2007 to 2017. The 3-year overall survival estimate (95% confidence interval [CI]) was 83% (74-92) for the entire cohort: 84% (75-94) and 75% (50-100) for LAD-I and LAD-III, respectively. We observed cumulative incidences (95% CI) of graft failure (GF) at 3 years of 17% (9%-26%) and grade II to IV acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) at 100 days of 24% (15%-34%). The estimate (95% CI) at 3 years for GF- and GVHD-II to IV-free survival as event-free survival (EFS) was 56% (46-69) for the entire cohort; 58% (46-72) and 56% (23-88) for LAD-I and LAD-III, respectively. Grade II to IV acute GVHD was a relevant risk factor for death (hazard ratio 3.6; 95% CI 1.4-9.1; P = .006). Patients' age at transplant =13 months, transplantation from a nonsibling donor, and any serological cytomegalovirus mismatch in donor-recipient pairs were significantly associated with severe acute GVHD and inferior EFS. The choice of busulfan- or treosulfan-based conditioning, type of GVHD prophylaxis, and serotherapy did not impact overall survival, EFS, or aGVHD. An intrinsic inflammatory component of LAD may contribute to inflammatory complications during allo-HSCT, thus providing the rationale for considering anti-inflammatory therapy pretreatment.
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Long-term outcome of LRBA deficiency in 76 patients after various treatment modalities as evaluated by the immune deficiency and dysregulation activity (IDDA) score
Tesch, V. K., Abolhassani, H., Shadur, B., Zobel, J., Mareika, Y., Sharapova, S., Karakoc-Aydiner, E., Riviere, J. G., Garcia-Prat, M., Moes, N., et al
The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. 2019
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent findings strongly support hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in patients with severe presentations of lipopolysaccharide-responsive beige-like anchor protein (LRBA) deficiency, but long-term follow-up and survival data for non-transplanted patients beyond previous patient reports or meta-reviews are scarce. OBJECTIVE This international, retrospective study was conducted to elucidate the longitudinal clinical course of transplanted and non-transplanted LRBA-deficient patients. METHODS We assessed disease burden and treatment responses with a specially developed immune deficiency and dysregulation activity (IDDA) score, reflecting the sum and severity of organ involvement and infections, days of hospitalization, supportive care requirements, and performance indices. RESULTS Twenty-four of 76 LRBA-deficient patients from 29 centers (10 years median follow-up, range: 1-52) underwent HSCT from 2005 to 2019. Overall survival after HSCT (median follow-up 20 months) was 70.8% (17/24 patients); all deaths were due to non-specific, early, transplant-related mortality. Currently, 82.7% (43/52) of non-transplanted patients (aged 3-69 years) are alive. Of 17 HSCT survivors, seven are in complete and five in good partial remission without treatment (12/17, 70.6%). Only five of 43 non-transplanted patients (11.6%) are without immunosuppression. IDDA scores were significantly lower in patients who survived HSCT than in those receiving conventional treatment (P=0.005) or in patients who received abatacept or sirolimus as compared to other therapies, and in patients with residual LRBA expression. Higher disease burden, longer duration before HSCT, and lung involvement were associated with poor outcome. CONCLUSIONS The life-long disease activity, implying a need for immunosuppression and risk of malignancy, must be weighed against the risks of HSCT.
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Risk factors affecting outcome of unrelated cord blood transplantation for children with familial haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis
Furtado-Silva, J. M., Paviglianiti, A., Ruggeri, A., Boelens, J. J., Veys, P., Ahmari, A. A., Zecca, M., Locatelli, F., Michel, G., Volt, F., et al
British journal of haematology. 2018
Abstract
Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is still the only available curative option for Familial Haemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (FHLH). Most studies report outcomes after bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation. We analysed the outcomes of 118 children with FHLH undergoing single-unit umbilical cord blood transplantation performed from 1996 to 2014. Myeloablative conditioning regimen was given to 90% of the patients, and was mostly busulfan-based (n = 81, 76%), including anti-thymocyte globulin or alemtuzumab (n = 102, 86%). The cumulative incidence of Day 60 neutrophil engraftment was 85%; and that of non-relapse mortality and acute graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) was 21% and 33% at 100 days, respectively. The 6-year cumulative incidence of chronic GvHD was 17% and the 6-year probability of overall survival was 55%. In multivariate analysis, children receiving a graft with a total nucleated cell dose greater than 9.9 x 10(7) /kg had a better overall survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.27-0.88, P = 0.02). Degree of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) matching was associated with improved disease-free survival (5/6 vs. 6/6 HR: 2.11, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-4.4, P = 0.05 and ≤4/6 vs. 6/6, HR: 2.82, CI: 1.27-6.23, P = 0.01). Umbilical cord blood transplantation with a high cell dose and good HLA match is a suitable alternative option to haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children with FHLH who lack a HLA-matched donor.