High-Dose Chemotherapy Plus Non-Cryopreserved Autologous Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Rescue for Patients With Refractory or Relapsed Hodgkin Disease

Clinico-Epidemiological Profile, Prognostic Factors and Treatment Outcome of Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

Approximately 5-10% of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma are refractory to initial treatment. The aim of our study was to assess the clinico-epidemiological profile, prognostic factors and treatment outcome. A retrospective study was conducted over a period of 12 years between June 2006 and January 2018 at the oncology department of Salah Azaïz Institute. Thirty-one patients were included. The median age was 27 years with a female predominance (sex ratio = 0.93).The majority had an advanced stage (61%). IGEV regimen was the most commonly used salvage chemotherapy (n = 14). Age above 30 years was predictive of treatment failure after salvage therapy (p = 0.003). IGEV regimen showed better results than ICE protocol in terms of response to salvage therapy (p = 0.048). Seven patients had salvage radiotherapy. Four patients had autologous stem cell transplant. Progressive disease (n = 12) was the main cause of non-eligibility of autologous stem cell tansplant. Overall survival and progression free survival at 3 years were 50% and 5% respectively. The prognostic factors influencing the overall survival were age above 30 years (p = 0.001), advanced Ann Arbor stage before progression (p = 0.02), advanced Ann Arbor stage of refractory Hodgkin lymphoma (p = 0.001), histological subtype (p = 0.001), CD20 expression (p = 0.027) and non-response to salvage therapy (p = 0.004). The prognostic factor influencing progression free survival was the non-response to salvage therapy (p = 0.045). The prognosis of refractory Hodgkin lymphoma remains poor. The current standard secondary treatment consists of combination therapy, usually followed by autologous stem cell transplantat. Innovative therapies are needed to improve the prognosis of refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12288-021-01463-4.

Non-cryopreserved peripheral blood stem cells autologous transplantation in multiple myeloma: Bicentric study

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study is to evaluate the toxicity of autologous transplantation of non-frozen peripheral blood stem cells in Moroccan patients with multiple myeloma.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This was a bicentric retrospective study conducted in the Clinical Haematology Department of Mohammed V Military Teaching Hospital and at the Al Madina Clinic in Casablanca. The study period was from January 2015 to June 2019. All patients with multiple myeloma who had undergone an autologous peripheral stem cell transplant without freezing were included. Mobilisation was performed with lenograstim alone and the collected stem cells were stored for 24-48hours in a blood bank refrigerator at a temperature of 4°C. After standard conditioning with high-dose melphalan, the peripheral blood stem cells were reinjected 24 h following conditioning.

RESULTS

Over the study period, 55 patients received an autologous transplant using non-frozen peripheral blood stem cells. The median richness of the CD34 cells collected was 4.5×10⁶ CD34/kg (range: 2-12.2). The time required for neutrophil recovery was 12 days (range: 7-19). The time required for platelet recovery was 14 days (range: 9-32). The mortality rate within 100 days post-transplant was 3.6%. We did not observe any cases of graft failure.

CONCLUSION

Our study finds good feasibility and low toxicity of autologous peripheral stem cell transplantation without freezing in patients with multiple myeloma.

Role of cytotoxic therapy with hematopoietic cell transplantation in the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma: guidelines from the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

The role of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in the therapy of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in pediatric and adult patients is reviewed and critically evaluated in this systematic evidence-based review. Specific criteria were used for searching the published literature and for grading the quality and strength of the evidence and the strength of the treatment recommendations. Treatment recommendations based on the evidence are included and were reached unanimously by a panel of HL experts. Both autologous and allogeneic HCT offer a survival benefit in selected patients with advanced or relapsed HL and are currently part of standard clinical care. Relapse remains a significant cause of failure after both transplant approaches, and strategies to decrease the risk of relapse remain an important area of investigation.