Second allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in acute leukemia: results of a survey by the European Cooperative Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

Leukemic relapse is the most frequent cause of treatment failure after allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT). To identify prognostic factors affecting the outcome of second HSCT, we performed a retrospective study on patients with acute leukemia (AL) undergoing second HSCT who reported to the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the European Cooperative Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry. One hundred seventy patients who received second HSCTs for AL experienced relapse after first HSCTs were performed from 1978 to 1997. Status at second HSCT, time between first and second HSCT, conditioning regimen, source of stem cells, treatment-related mortality (TRM), acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD), leukemia-free survival (LFS), overall survival (OS), and relapse were considered. Engraftment occurred in 97% of patients. Forty-two patients were alive at last follow-up, with a 5-year OS rate of 26%. The 5-year probability for TRM, LFS, and relapse was 46%, 25%, and 59%, respectively. Grade > or = 2 aGVHD occurred in 59% of patients, and chronic GVHD occurred in 32%. In multivariate analysis, diagnosis, interval to relapse after first HSCT > 292 days, aGVHD at first HSCT, complete remission status at second HSCT, use of total-body irradiation at second HSCT, acute GVHD at second HSCT, and use of bone marrow as source of stem cells at second HSCT were associated with better outcome. Second HSCT represents an effective therapeutic option for AL patients relapsed after allogeneic HSCT, with a 3-year LFS rate of 52% for the subset of patients who experienced relapse more than 292 days after receiving the first HSCT and who were in remission before receiving the second HSCT

Management of psychiatric complications in unrelated donor before unrelated peripheral hematopoietic stem cell collections

Olivier Hequet,1,2 Valerie Mialou,2 Francoise Audat,3 Eric Wattel,4 Valerie Chapel,4 Damiela Revesz,1 Jean-Piere Jouet,3 Brigitte Fisseaux,5 Mohamed Saoud,6 Mauricette Michallet4 1Apheresis Unit, 2Cell Therapy Laboratory, Etablissement Français du Sang (EFS) Rhône Alpes, Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud, Pierre Bénite, 3Biomedicine Agency, Saint-Denis, 4Hematological Unit, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud, Pierre Bénite, 5Psychiatric Unit, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Centre Hospitalier, Bourgoin Jallieu, 6Psychiatric Unit, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Centre Hospitalier P Wertheimer, Lyon, France Abstract: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation can efficiently treat patients with severe hematological diseases. A human leukocyte antigen-compatible donor is required for performing transplantation. The occurrence of unexpected acute severe diseases in a donor can compromise the feasibility of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, when a severe health problem occurs in a donor while the recipient has already received a conditioning regimen, hematologists have to find the best solutions for the recipient, while the team in charge of the donor has to find the best medical solutions for the donor. We describe here the occurrence of psychiatric acute complications in an unrelated donor while the myeloablative conditioning regimen had already been given to the recipient. We report the successive decisions that were made in an emergency based upon the expertise of physicians specialized in hematology, apheresis, cell therapy, and psychiatry to preserve the donor’s health and recipient’s life. Keywords: hematopoietic stem cells, mobilization, harvest, psychiatric complication, CD34+ cells, unrelated dono

Evaluation of minimal residual disease using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia: A multicenter study of 51 patients

Purpose: Most studies using various reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques reported that the detection of the AML1-ETO fusion transcript was a common finding in long-term complete remission (CR) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21) translocation, However, larger prospective studies with interlaboratory quality control may be important to investigate more precisely the clinical usefulness of studying minimal residual disease with RT-PCR in t(8;21) AML. Patients and Methods: We collected 223 marrow samples from 51 patients with t(8;21) AML diagnosed in five centers and tested all samples by two different RT-PCR techniques (a nested technique and a one-step technique, with a sensitivity of 10(-6) and 10(-5), respectively) in two different laboratories. Results: Samples from 14 patients in long persistent CR (median follow-up duration, 112 months) were taken at least twice, and all were PCR-negative by both techniques, Samples were prospectively taken from 37 patients after achievement of first CR and/or second CR, before intensive consolidation treatment, and every 3 to 6 months after completion of therapy. Patients who converted to PCR negativity with the one-step technique (60%) or both techniques (48%) after CR achievement had a longer CR duration than those with persistently positive PCR results (two-sided log-rank test, P = .0001), Patients who became PCR-negative with the one-step technique before intensive consolidation (23%) had a lower relapse rate (11% v 72%) and a longer CR duration than those who remained persistently PCR-positive at that point (two-sided log-rank test, P = .0015). Conclusion: Patients with AML with t(8;21) in longterm remission were all PCR-negative. In prospectively studied patients, a good correlation was found between negative PCR results and absence of relapse. Early negative results with the one-step RT-PCR technique, before consolidation treatment, seemed to carry an especially good prognosis, suggesting that RT-PCR analysis could help in choosing the type of consolidation therapy in patients with t(8;21) AML, (C) 2000 by American Society of Clinical Oncology