Antithymocyte globulin before allogeneic stem cell transplantation for progressive myelodysplastic syndrome : a study from the French Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy

We investigated the impact of rabbit antithymocyte globulins (ATG) on patient outcomes after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) for progressive myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Of the 242 consecutive patients who underwent allo-SCT for progressive MDS between October 1999 and December 2009, 93 received ATG (ATG group) at the median dose of 5 mg/kg, whereas 149 patients did not (no-ATG group). Donors were sibling (n ¼ 153) or HLA-matched unrelated (n ¼ 89). Patients received blood (n ¼ 90) or marrow (n ¼ 152) grafts after either myeloablative (n ¼ 109) or reduced-intensity (n ¼ 133) conditioning. Three-year overall and event-free survival, nonrelapse mortality, relapse, and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) development were not significantly different between the 2 groups. In contrast, acute grade II to IV GVHD occurred more often in the no-ATG group (55% of the patients) than in the ATG group (27%, P < .0001). Similar results were observed with acute grade III to IV GVHD (28% and 14% in the no-ATG group and ATG group, respectively; P ¼ .009). In multivariate analysis, after adjustment with propensity score, the absence of ATG was the strongest parameter associated with an increased risk of acute grade II to IV GVHD (hazard ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.35 to 3.37; P ¼.001]. ATG had no impact on overall and event-free survival or cumulative incidence of the relapse. In conclusion, the addition of ATG to allo-SCT conditioning did not increase the incidence of relapse of patients with progressive MDS. The incidence of acute GVHD was decreased without compromising outcomes

Triage Scoring System Based on Early Post-Transplant Complications for Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome Requiring ICU after Allo-HCT: An SFGM-TC Study

58th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American-Society-of-Hematology (ASH), San Diego, CA, DEC 03-06, 2016International audienc

Scoring System Based on Post-Transplant Complications in Patients after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Myelodysplastic Syndrome: A Study from the SFGM-TC

International audienc

Long Term Follow-up of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) for Primary Plasma Cell Leukemia (pPCL): Final Results of a Prospective Study of IFM Group

58th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American-Society-of-Hematology (ASH), San Diego, CA, DEC 03-06, 2016International audienc

Bortezomib, Doxorubicin, Cyclophosphamide, Dexamethasone Induction Followed by Stem Cell Transplantation for Primary Plasma Cell Leukemia: A Prospective Phase II Study of the Intergroupe Francophone du Myélome

International audiencePURPOSE: Primary plasma cell leukemia (pPCL) is a rare and aggressive malignancy with a poor prognosis. With conventional chemotherapy, patients typically die within 1 year. In all but one of the retrospective studies reported to date, bortezomib and lenalidomide seem to improve survival. We conducted a prospective phase II trial in patients with pPCL to assess the efficacy of an alternate regimen that combines standard chemotherapy, a proteasome inhibitor, and high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation (HDM/ASCT) followed by either allogeneic transplantation or bortezomib/lenalidomide maintenance.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients 70 years old and younger with newly diagnosed pPCL received four alternating cycles of bortezomib, dexamethasone plus doxorubicin or cyclophosphamide. Peripheral blood stem cells were collected from responding patients with < 1% of circulating plasma cells before HDM/ASCT. As consolidation, young patients received a reduced-intensity conditioning allograft, whereas the remaining patients underwent a second HDM/ASCT followed by 1 year of bortezomib, lenalidomide, dexamethasone. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS).RESULTS: Forty patients (median age, 57 years; range, 27 to 71 years) were enrolled. The median follow-up was 28.7 months. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the median PFS and overall survival were 15.1 (95% CI, 8.4; -) and 36.3 (95% CI, 25.6; -) months, respectively. The overall response rate to induction was 69%. One patient underwent a syngeneic allograft and 25 HDM/ASCT (16 of whom subsequently received a reduced-intensity conditioning allograft and seven a second ASCT followed by maintenance).CONCLUSION: In this prospective trial in patients with pPCL, we show that bortezomib, dexamethasone plus doxorubicin or cyclophosphamide induction followed by transplantation induces high response rates and appears to significantly improve PFS

MELISSE, a large multicentric observational study to determine risk factors of venous thromboembolism in patients with multiple myeloma treated with immunomodulatory drugs

International audienceImmunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. We designed MELISSE, a multicentre prospective observational study, to evaluate VTE incidence and identify risk factors in IMiDs-treated MM. Our objective was to determine the real-life practice of VTE prophylaxis strategy. A total of 524 MM patients were included, and we planned to collect information at baseline, at four and at 12 months, on MM therapy, on VTE risk factors and management. VTE incidence was 7% (n=31), including 2.5% pulmonary embolism (PE) (n=11), similar at four or 12 months. VTE was observed at all risk assessment levels, although the increased risk assessment level correlated to a lower rate of VTE, maybe due to the implemented thromboprophylaxis strategy. VTE occurred in 7% on aspirin vs 3% on low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) prophylaxis, and none on vitamin K antagonists (VKA). New risk factors for VTE in IMiDs-treated MM were identified. In conclusion, VTE prophylaxis is compulsory in IMiDs-treated MM, based on individualised VTE risk assessment. Anticoagulation prophylaxis with LMWH should clearly be prioritised in MM patients with high VTE risk, along with VKA. Further prospective studies will identify most relevant VTE risk factors in IMiDs-treated MM to select accurately which MM patients should receive LMWH prophylaxis and for which duration to optimise VTE risk reduction

Impact of azacitidine before allogeneic stem-cell transplantation for myelodysplastic syndromes: a study by the Société Française de Greffe de Moelle et de Thérapie-Cellulaire and the Groupe-Francophone des Myélodysplasies.

International audiencePURPOSE: To investigate the impact of prior-to-transplantation azacitidine (AZA) on patient outcome after allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (alloSCT) for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Of the 265 consecutive patients who underwent alloSCT for MDS between October 2005 and December 2009, 163 had received cytoreductive treatment prior to transplantation, including induction chemotherapy (ICT) alone (ICT group; n = 98), AZA alone (AZA group; n = 48), or AZA preceded or followed by ICT (AZA-ICT group; n = 17). At diagnosis, 126 patients (77%) had an excess of marrow blasts, and 95 patients (58%) had intermediate-2 or high-risk MDS according to the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS). Progression to more advanced disease before alloSCT was recorded in 67 patients. Donors were sibling (n = 75) or HLA-matched unrelated (10/10; n = 88). They received blood (n = 142) or marrow (n = 21) grafts following either myeloablative (n = 33) or reduced intensity (n = 130) conditioning. RESULTS: With a median follow-up of 38.7 months, 3-year outcomes in the AZA, ICT, and AZA-ICT groups were 55%, 48%, and 32% (P = .07) for overall survival (OS); 42%, 44%, and 29% (P = .14) for event-free survival (EFS); 40%, 37%, and 36% (P = .86) for relapse; and 19%, 20%, and 35% (P = .24) for nonrelapse mortality (NRM), respectively. Multivariate analysis confirmed the absence of statistical differences between the AZA and the ICT groups in terms of OS, EFS, relapse, and NRM. CONCLUSION: With the goal of downstaging underlying disease before alloSCT, AZA alone led to outcomes similar to those for standard ICT