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1.
Intensive Care Risk and Long-Term Outcomes in Pediatric Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients
Zinter, M. S., Brazauskas, R., Strom, J., Chen, S., Bo-Subait, S., Sharma, A., Beitinjaneh, A., Dimitrova, D., Guilcher, G., Preussler, J. M., et al
Blood advances. 2023
Abstract
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) can be complicated by life-threatening organ toxicity and infection necessitating intensive care. Epidemiologic data have been limited by single-center studies, poor database granularity, and a lack of long-term survivors. To identify contemporary trends in ICU utilization and long-term outcomes, we merged data from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research and the Virtual Pediatric Systems databases. We identified 6,995 pediatric HCT patients age ≤21 years who underwent 1st allogeneic HCT between 2008-2014 across 69 centers in the United States or Canada and followed patients until the year 2020. ICU admission was required for 1067 patients (8.3% by day +100, 12.8% by 1 year, and 15.3% by 5 years post-HCT), and was linked to demographic background, pre-transplant organ toxicity, allograft type and HLA-match, and the development of graft-versus-host disease or malignancy relapse. Survival to ICU discharge was 85.7% but more than half of ICU survivors required ICU readmission, leading to 52.5% and 42.6% survival at 1- and 5-years post-ICU transfer, respectively. ICU survival was worse among patients with malignant disease, poor pre-transplant organ function, and alloreactivity risk-factors. Among 1-year HCT survivors, those who required ICU in the first year had 10% lower survival at 5 years and developed new dialysis-dependent renal failure at a greater rate (p<0.001). Thus, while ICU management is common and survival to ICU discharge is high, ongoing complications necessitate recurrent ICU admission and lead to a poor 1-year outcome in select high-risk patients.
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Comparison of fludarabine/melphalan (FluMel) with fludarabine/melphalan/BCNU or thiotepa (FBM/FTM) in patients with AML in first complete remission undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation - a registry study on behalf of the EBMT Acute Leukemia Working Party
Duque-Afonso, J., Finke, J., Ngoya, M., Galimard, J. E., Craddock, C., Raj, K., Bloor, A., Nicholson, E., Eder, M., Kim, O., et al
Bone marrow transplantation. 2023
Abstract
Conditioning protocols for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) are being developed continuously to improve their anti-leukemic efficacy and reduce their toxicity. In this study, we compared the conditioning protocol of fludarabine with melphalan 140 mg/m(2) (FluMel) with conditioning protocols based on this same backbone but with an additional alkylating agent i.e., either fludarabine/BCNU (also known as carmustine)/melphalan (FBM), or fludarabine/thiotepa/melphalan (FTM) 110 mg/m(2). We included 1272 adult patients (FluMel, n = 1002; FBM/FTM, n = 270) with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with intermediate/poor cytogenetic risk in first complete remission (CR) from the registry of the EBMT Acute Leukemia Working Party. Despite patients in the FBM/FTM group were older (64.1 years vs. 59.8 years, p < 0.001) and had a worse Karnofsky performance score (KPS < 90, 33% vs. 24%, p = 0.003), they showed a better overall survival (OS) (2 y OS: 68.3% vs. 58.1%, p = 0.02) and less non-relapse mortality (NRM) (2 y NRM: 15.8% vs. 22.2%, p = 0.009) compared to patients treated with FluMel. No significant differences were observed in relapse incidence (RI) (2 y RI: 24.9% vs. 23.7%, p = 0.62). In conclusion, the addition of a second alkylating agent (BCNU/carmustine or thiotepa) to FluMel as FBM/FTM conditioning, improves OS in AML patients in first CR with intermediate/poor risk cytogenetics after allo-HCT.
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3.
Fludarabine or cyclophosphamide in combination with total body irradiation as myeloablative conditioning prior to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia: an analysis by the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the EBMT
Giebel, S., Labopin, M., Socié, G., Aljurf, M., Salmenniemi, U., Labussière-Wallet, H., Srour, M., Kröger, N., Zahrani, M. A., Lioure, B., et al
Bone marrow transplantation. 2023
Abstract
In this registry-based study we retrospectively compared outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) for adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) following conditioning with total body irradiation (TBI) combined with either cyclophosphamide (Cy) or fludarabine (Flu). TBI 12 Gy + Cy was used in 2105 cases while TBI 12 Gy + Flu was administered to 150 patients in first or second complete remission. In a multivariate model adjusted for other prognostic factors, TBI/Cy conditioning was associated with a reduced risk of relapse (HR = 0.69, p = 0.049) and increased risk of grade 2-4 acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD, HR = 1.57, p = 0.03) without significant effect on other transplantation outcomes. In a matched-pair analysis the use of TBI/Cy as compared to TBI/Flu was associated with a significantly reduced rate of relapse (18% vs. 30% at 2 years, p = 0.015) without significant effect on non-relapse mortality, GVHD and survival. We conclude that the use of myeloablative TBI/Cy as conditioning prior to allo-HCT for adult patients with ALL in complete remission is associated with lower risk of relapse rate compared to TBI/Flu and therefore should probably be considered a preferable regimen.
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4.
A Simple Prognostic System in Myelofibrosis Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant: A CIBMTR/EBMT analysis
Tamari, R., McLornan, D. P., Ahn, K. W., Estrada-Merly, N., Hernandez-Boluda, J. C., Giralt, S. A., Palmer, J. M., Gale, R. P., DeFilipp, Z., Marks, D., et al
Blood advances. 2023
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Editor's Choice
Abstract
To develop a prognostic model for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) for myelofibrosis (MF). We examined 623 patients undergoing allo-HCT between 2000 - 2016 in the USA (CIBMTR cohort). A Cox multivariable model was used to identify factors prognostic of mortality. A weighted score using these factors was assigned to patients transplanted in Europe (EBMT cohort) (n = 623). Age above 50 (hazard ratio [HR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 -1.96), and HLA matched unrelated donor (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 0.98-1.7) were associated with increased hazard of death and were assigned 1 point. Hemoglobin lower than 100g/L at time of transplant (HR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.2- 2.19), and a mismatched unrelated donor (HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.25- 2.52), were assigned 2 points. The 3-year overall survival (OS) in patients with a low (1-2 points), intermediate (3-4 points) and high score (5 points) were 69% (95% CI, 61% -76 %), 51 % (95% CI, 46% -56.4 %), and 34% (95% CI, 21% - 49%), respectively (P. < 0.001). Increasing score was predictive of increased transplant related mortality (TRM) (P .0017) but not for relapse (P. 0.12). The derived score was predictive for OS (P. < 0.001) and TRM (P. 0.002) but not relapse (P. 17) in the EBMT cohort as well. The proposed system was prognostic of survival in two large cohorts, CIBMTR and EBMT, and can easily be applied by clinicians consulting patients with MF on transplant outcomes.
PICO Summary
Population
Adults aged 40 or over undergoing allogeneic transplantation for myelofibrosis and reported to the CIBMTR or EBMT registries (n=1246)
Intervention
Cox regression model of prognostic factors developed with patients from the CIBMTR registry (n=623)
Comparison
Validation of the model using a cohort from the EBMT registry (n=623)
Outcome
Age above 50 (hazard ratio [HR], 1.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 -1.96), and HLA matched unrelated donor (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 0.98-1.7) were associated with increased hazard of death and were assigned 1 point. Hemoglobin lower than 100g/L at time of transplant (HR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.2- 2.19), and a mismatched unrelated donor (HR, 1.78; 95% CI, 1.25- 2.52), were assigned 2 points. The 3-year overall survival (OS) in patients with a low (1-2 points), intermediate (3-4 points) and high score (5 points) were 69% (95% CI, 61% -76 %), 51 % (95% CI, 46% -56.4 %), and 34% (95% CI, 21% - 49%), respectively. Increasing score was predictive of increased transplant related mortality (TRM) but not for relapse. The derived score was predictive for OS and TRM but not relapse in the EBMT cohort as well.
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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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Editor's Choice
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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6.
Association between the choice of the conditioning regimen and outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for myelofibrosis
Murthy, G. S. G., Kim, S., Estrada-Merly, N., Abid, M. B., Aljurf, M., Assal, A., Badar, T., Badawy, S. M., Ballen, K., Beitinjaneh, A., et al
Haematologica. 2023
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Editor's Choice
Abstract
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) remains the only curative treatment for myelofibrosis. However, the optimal conditioning regimen either with reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) or myeloablative conditioning (MAC) is not well known. Using the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database, we identified adults aged ≥18 years with myelofibrosis undergoing allo-HCT between 2008-2019 and analyzed the outcomes separately in the RIC and MAC cohorts based on the conditioning regimens used. Among 872 eligible patients, 493 underwent allo-HCT using RIC (Fludarabine/busulfan=166, Fludarabine/melphalan=327) and 379 using MAC (Fludarabine/busulfan=247, Busulfan/cyclophosphamide=132). In multivariable analysis with RIC, Fludarabine/melphalan was associated with inferior overall survival (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.15-2.81, p=0.009), higher early non-relapse mortality (HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.12-2.91, p=0.01) and higher acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) (grade II-IV- HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.03-2.03, p=0.03; grade III-IV HR 2.21, 95%CI 1.28-3.83, p=0.004) compared to Fludarabine/busulfan. In the MAC setting, Busulfan/cyclophosphamide was associated with a higher acute GVHD (grade II-IV HR 2.33, 95% CI 1.67-3.25, p<0.001; grade III-IV HR 2.31, 95% CI 1.52-3.52, p<0.001) and inferior GVHD-free relapse-free survival (GRFS) (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.49-2.53, p<0.001) as compared to Fludarabine/busulfan. Hence, our study suggests that Fludarabine/busulfan is associated with better outcomes in RIC (better overall survival, lower early non-relapse mortality, lower acute GVHD) and MAC (lower acute GVHD and better GRFS) in myelofibrosis.
PICO Summary
Population
Adults with myelofibrosis undergoing allogeneic HSCT between 2008-2019 and reported to the CIBMTR database (n=872)
Intervention
Reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens (n=493): fludarabine/busulfan (n=166) or fludarabine/melphalan (n=327)
Comparison
Myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimens (n=379): fludarabine/busulfan (n=247) or busulfan/cyclophosphamide (n=132).
Outcome
In multivariable analysis with RIC, fludarabine/melphalan was associated with inferior overall survival (HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.15-2.81), higher early non-relapse mortality (HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.12-2.91,) and higher acute graft versus host disease (GVHD) (grade II-IV- HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.03-2.03; grade III-IV HR 2.21, 95%CI 1.28-3.83) compared to fludarabine/busulfan. In the MAC setting, busulfan/cyclophosphamide was associated with a higher acute GVHD (grade II-IV HR 2.33, 95% CI 1.67-3.25; grade III-IV HR 2.31, 95% CI 1.52-3.52) and inferior GVHD-free relapse-free survival (GRFS) (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.49-2.53) as compared to fludarabine/busulfan.
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7.
Non-infectious pulmonary toxicity after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation
Patel, S. S., Ahn, K. W., Khanal, M., Bupp, C., Allbee-Johnson, M., Majhail, N. S., Hamilton, B. K., Rotz, S. J., Hashem, H., Beitinjaneh, A., et al
Transplantation and cellular therapy. 2022
Abstract
Non-infectious pulmonary toxicity (NPT) is a significant complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) and includes idiopathic pneumonia syndrome (IPS), diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH), and cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP) with an overall incidence ranging 1-15% in different case series and variable mortality rates. A registry study of the epidemiology and outcomes of NPT after alloHCT has not been conducted. The primary objective was to assess the incidence of and risk factors for IPS, DAH, and COP; the secondary objective was to assess overall survival (OS) in patients developing NPT. This retrospective study included adult patients who underwent alloHCT between 2008 and 2017 and reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR®). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were developed to identify the risk factors for development of NPT and for OS, by including pre-transplant clinical variables and time-dependent variables of neutrophil and platelet recovery, and acute GVHD post-transplant. This study included 21,574 adult patients, with a median age of 55 years. Per the HCT-Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI), 24% and 15% patients had moderate and severe pulmonary comorbidity, respectively. The cumulative incidence of NPT at 1-year was 8.1% (95% confidence interval [95CI], 7.7-8.5%). Individually, 1-year cumulative incidence of IPS, DAH, and COP was 4.9% (95CI, 4.7-5.2%), 2.1% (95CI, 1.9-2.3%), and 0.7% (95CI, 0.6-0.8%), respectively. Multivariable analysis showed severe pulmonary comorbidity, grade II-IV acute GVHD, mismatched unrelated donor and cord blood transplant, and HCT-CI score ≥1 significantly increased the risk of NPT. In contrast, alloHCT performed in ≥2014, non-TBI and TBI-based non-myeloablative conditioning and platelet recovery were associated with a decreased risk. In a landmark analysis at day+100 post-transplant, the risk of DAH was significantly lower in patients who had platelet recovery by day+100. Multivariable analysis for OS demonstrated that NPT significantly increased the mortality risk (HR 4.2, p<0.0001).
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8.
Impact of conditioning regimen intensity on outcomes of second allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for secondary acute myelogenous leukemia
Nagler, A., Peczynski, C., Dholaria, B., Labopin, M., Valerius, T., Dreger, P., Kröger, N., Reinhardt, H. C., Finke, J., Franke, G. N., et al
Bone marrow transplantation. 2022
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Editor's Choice
Abstract
Limited data is available on factors impacting the outcomes of second hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT2) in patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML). This study aimed to assess HCT2 outcome for sAML comparing reduced-intensity (RIC) to myeloablative (MAC) conditioning. Two hundred and fifteen patients were included: RIC (n = 134), MAC (n = 81). The median follow-up was 41.1 (95% CI: 26.7-69.3) and 28.5 (95% CI: 23.9-75.4) months, respectively. At two years, the relapse incidence (RI) was 58.3% versus 51.1% in RIC and MAC, respectively. The 2-year leukemia free survival (LFS) was 26.6% versus 26%, and the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) was 16.4% versus 12.1%, while OS was 31.4% and 39.7%, for RIC and MAC respectively. MVA showed a significantly lower RI [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.46 (95% CI, 0.26-0.8, p = 0.006)] and improved LFS [HR = 0.62 (95% CI, 0.39-0.98, p = 0.042)] with MAC versus RIC. The choice of conditioning regimen did not impact non-relapse mortality [HR = 1.14 (95% CI, 0.52-2.5, p = 0.74)], overall survival (OS) [HR = 0.72 (95% CI, 0.44-1.17, p = 0.18)] or GRFS [HR = 0.89 (95% CI, 0.59-1.36, p = 0.6)]. In conclusion, MAC was associated with a lower RI and superior LFS. These results support the use of MAC for eligible patients with sAML who are being considered for HCT2.
PICO Summary
Population
Adult patients with relapsed secondary acute leukaemia (sAML) receiving a second hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT2) from mulitple centre registries across Europe (n=215)
Intervention
Reduced-intensity pre-HCT2 conditioning (RIC, n=134)
Comparison
Myeloablative pre-HCT2 conditioning (MAC, n=81)
Outcome
Median follow-up was 41.1 (RIC, 95% CI: 26.7-69.3) and 28.5 (MAC, 95% CI: 23.9-75.4) months. At two years, the relapse incidence (RI) was 58.3% versus 51.1% in RIC and MAC, respectively. The 2-year leukemia free survival (LFS) was 26.6% versus 26%, and the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) was 16.4% versus 12.1%, while OS was 31.4% and 39.7%, for RIC and MAC respectively. Multivariate analysis showed a significantly lower RI [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.46 (95% CI, 0.26-0.8)] and improved LFS [HR = 0.62 (95% CI, 0.39-0.98)] with MAC versus RIC. The choice of conditioning regimen did not impact non-relapse mortality [HR = 1.14 (95% CI, 0.52-2.5)], overall survival (OS) [HR = 0.72 (95% CI, 0.44-1.17)] or GRFS [HR = 0.89 (95% CI, 0.59-1.36)].
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9.
Comparison of fludarabine-melphalan and fludarabine-treosulfan as conditioning prior to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation-a registry study on behalf of the EBMT Acute Leukemia Working Party
Duque-Afonso, J., Finke, J., Labopin, M., Craddock, C., Protheroe, R., Kottaridis, P., Tholouli, E., Byrne, J. L., Orchard, K., Salmenniemi, U., et al
Bone Marrow Transplantation. 2022;57(8):1269-1276
Abstract
In recent years considerable variations in conditioning protocols for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) protocols have been introduced for higher efficacy, lower toxicity, and better outcomes. To overcome the limitations of the classical definition of reduced intensity and myeloablative conditioning, a transplantation conditioning intensity (TCI) score had been developed. In this study, we compared outcome after two frequently used single alkylator-based conditioning protocols from the intermediate TCI score category, fludarabine/melphalan 140 mg/m(2) (FluMel) and fludarabine/treosulfan 42 g/m(2) (FluTreo) for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in complete remission (CR). This retrospective analysis from the registry of the Acute Leukemia Working Party (ALWP) of the European Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) database included 1427 adult patients (median age 58.2 years) receiving either Flu/Mel (n = 1005) or Flu/Treo (n = 422). Both groups showed similar 3-year overall survival (OS) (54% vs 51.2%, p value 0.49) for patients conditioned with FluMel and FluTreo, respectively. However, patients treated with FluMel showed a reduced 3-year relapse incidence (32.4% vs. 40.4%, p value < 0.001) and slightly increased non-relapse mortality (NRM) (25.7% vs. 20.2%, p value = 0.06) compared to patients treated with FluTreo. Our data may serve as a basis for further studies examining the role of additional agents/ intensifications in conditioning prior to allo-HCT.
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10.
Adapting the HCT-CI Definitions for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Hematologic Malignancies Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
Friend, B., Broglie, L., Logan, B. R., Chhabra, S., Bupp, C., Schiller, G., Beitinjaneh, A., Perez, M. A. D., Guilcher, G. M. T., Hashem, H., et al
Transplantation and cellular therapy. 2022
Abstract
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation is a curative procedure for hematologic malignancies but is associated with a significant risk of non-relapse mortality (NRM). The Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation- Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) is a prognostic tool that discriminates this risk in all age groups. A recent survey of transplant physicians demonstrated that 79% of pediatric providers used the HCT-CI infrequently, and most reported concerns about its applicability in the younger population. We conducted a retrospective study using the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) database to examine the impact of expanded HCT-CI definitions on NRM in pediatric and young adult patients with hematologic malignancies. We included 5,790 patients <40 years old receiving allogeneic transplant between 2008 and 2017 to examine broader definitions of comorbidities in the HCT-CI, including history of mechanical ventilation and fungal infection, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and body mass index (BMI) percentiles. Multivariable Fine-Gray models were created to determine the effect of each HCT-CI defining comorbidity and its modification on NRM, and were utilized to develop two novel risk scores. We next developed the expanded HCT-CI for children and young adults (youth with malignancies; expanded ymHCT-CI), where 23% patients had an increased comorbidity score, compared to the HCT-CI. Comorbidities with hazard ratio (HR) <1.2 were then removed to create the simplified HCT-CI for children and young adults (youth with malignancies; simplified ymHCT-CI), which demonstrated higher scores corresponded to a greater risk of NRM (p<0.001). These novel comorbidity indices with broader definitions are more relevant to pediatric and young adult patients, and prospective studies are needed to validate these in the younger patient population. It remains to be seen if the development of these pediatric-specific and practical risk indices increases their utilization by the pediatric transplant community.