Successful Management of Multifactorial Colitis in a Recipient of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant: A Case Report

Recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant can develop life-threatening complications at any time following their transplants. These complications require repeated clinical assessment, appropriate and thorough screening as well as a comprehensive management approach. We report a young adult male who received a sibling allograft in the second complete remission of his acute lymphoblastic leukemia at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh. The patient developed severe colitis which was caused by: acute exacerbation of chronic graft versus host disease of the lower gastrointestinal tract, cytomegalovirus disease of the colon and a superadded Salmonella infection caused by food poisoning. The multifactorial colitis was properly investigated and successfully managed. To our knowledge, this is the first case of multifactorial colitis in a recipient of hematopoietic stem cell transplant

Safety and Efficacy of Targeted-Dose Busulfan and Bortezomib as a Conditioning Regimen for Patients with Relapsed Multiple Myeloma Undergoing a Second Autologous Blood Progenitor Cell Transplantation

AbstractPatients with multiple myeloma (MM) who relapse after autologous transplantation have limited therapeutic options. We conducted a prospective, multicenter, phase IIa study to investigate the safety and efficacy of i.v. busulfan (Bu) in combination with bortezomib as a conditioning regimen for a second autotransplantation. Because a safe Bu exposure was unknown in patients receiving this combination, Bu was initially targeted to a total area under the concentration–time curve (AUC) of 20,000 μM × minute. As no concentration-limiting toxicity was observed in 6 patients, this Bu exposure was utilized in the following treatment cohort (n = 24). Individualized Bu dose, based on test dose .8 mg/kg pharmacokinetics (PK), was administered daily for 4 consecutive days starting 5 days before transplantation, followed by a single dose of bortezomib (1.3 mg/m2) 1 day before transplantation. The total mean dose of i.v. Bu (including the test dose and 4-day administration) was 14.2 mg/kg (standard deviation = 2.48; range, 8.7 to 19.2). Confirmatory PK demonstrated that only 2 of 30 patients who underwent transplantation were dosed outside the Bu AUC target and dose adjustments were made for the last 2 doses of i.v. Bu. The median age was 59 years (range, 48 to 73). Median time from first to second transplantation was 28.0 months (range, 12 to 119). Of 26 evaluable patients, 10 patients attained a partial response (PR) or better at 3 months after transplantation, with 2 patients attaining a complete response. At 6 months after transplantation, 5 of 12 evaluable patients had maintained or improved their disease status. Median progression-free survival was 191 days, whereas median overall survival was not reached during the study period. The most common grade 3 and 4 toxicities were febrile neutropenia (50.0%) and stomatitis (43.3%). One transplantation-related death was observed. A combination of dose-targeted i.v. Bu and bortezomib induced PR or better in one third of patients with MM who underwent a second autotransplantation, with acceptable toxicity

Individual patient data meta-analysis of allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplant vs bone marrow transplant in the management of hematological malignancies:Indirect assessment of the effect of day 11 methotrexate administration

The effects of immunosuppressive regimens on the outcomes of patients with hematological malignancies undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation remain uncertain. We conducted an individual patient data meta-analysis using data from nine randomized trials comparing allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell (PBSCT) transplants to bone marrow (BMT) transplants, focusing on the administration of three vs four doses of methotrexate (MTX) as part of a regimen for graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) prophylaxis which included cyclosporine. Six trials containing 573 patients prescribed four doses of MTX while three trials containing 534 patients prescribed three doses of MTX. Four doses of MTX conferred a statistically significant survival advantage, resulting in death odds ratio (OR) 0.67 (CI 0.52-0.88) (P=0.0036) for recipients of PBSC compared to BM; with three doses, there was no statistically significant difference. In the four-dose studies relapse rates were 36.6% among recipients of BM compared to 19.2% among recipients of PBSC (P=0.0015). The rates of relapse in the three dose studies were 26% for both PBSC and BM. We hypothesize that the fourth dose of MTX provides extra immunosuppression among BM recipients resulting in a reduced anti-leukemic effect. This hypothesis can only be proved or disproved by a prospective, randomized trial.</p

Allogeneic peripheral blood stem-cell compared with bone marrow transplantation in the management of hematologic malignancies:An individual patient data meta-analysis of nine randomized trials

Purpose: Considerable uncertainty exists regarding relative effects of allogeneic peripheral blood stem cells transplantation (PBSCT) versus bone marrow transplantation (BMT) on outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies. Patients and Methods: To provide the totality of research evidence related to the effects of PBSCT versus BMT, we conducted an individual-patient data meta-analysis using data from nine randomized trials enrolling 1,111 adult patients. Results: Compared with BMT, PBSCT led to faster neutrophil (odds ratio [OR] = 0.31; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.38; P &lt; .00001) and platelet engraftment (OR = 0.52; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.61; P &lt; .00001). PBSCT was associated with a significant increase in the development of grade 3-4 acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD; OR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.88) and extensive (47% v 31% at 3 years; OR = 1.89; 95% CI, 1.47 to 2.42; P &lt; .000001) and overall chronic GVHD (68% v 52% at 3 years; OR = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.47 to 2.49; P &lt; .000001), but not grade 2-4 acute GVHD (54% v 53%; P = .49). PBSCT was associated with a decrease in relapse (21% v 27% at 3 years; OR = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.93; P = .01) in both late-stage- (33% v 51% at 3 years; OR = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.38 to 0.93; P = .02) and early-stage-disease patients (16% v 20% at 3 years; OR = 0.69; 95% CI, 0.49 to 0.98; P = .04). Nonrelapse mortality was not different between groups. Overall and disease-free survival were only statistically significantly improved in patients with late-stage disease (overall survival: 46% v 31% at 3 years; OR = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.46 to 0.90; P = .01; disease-free survival: 41% v 27% at 3 years; OR = 0.63 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.87; P = .01). Conclusion: PBSCT is associated with a decreased relapse rate in hematologic malignancies and improvement in overall and disease-free survival in patients with late-stage disease. PBSCT is also associated with a significant risk of extensive chronic GVHD.</p