Importance of early immune recovery after autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation in lymphoma patients

Predictive Factors for Early Immune Recovery in NHL Patients after Autologous Transplantation: A Multicenter Prospective Study

Early lymphocyte recovery as manifested by an absolute lymphocyte count at d+15 (ALC-15) ≥ 0.5 × 109/L after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHCT) has been associated with a better outcome. This prospective multicenter study aimed to clarify factors associated with ALC-15 ≥ 0.5 × 109/L after AHCT among 178 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The mobilization capacity, as manifested by peak blood CD34+ cell numbers > 45 × 106/L correlated with higher ALC-15 levels (p = 0.020). In addition, the amount of CD3+CD4+ T cells > 31.8 × 106/kg in the infused graft predicted ALC-15 ≥ 0.5 × 109/L (p < 0.001). Also, the number of infused graft CD3+CD8+ T cells > 28.8 × 106/kg (p = 0.017) and NK cells > 4.4 × 106/kg was linked with higher ALC-15 (p < 0.001). The two-year progression-free survival after AHCT was significantly better in patients with ALC-15 ≥ 0.5 × 109/L (74 vs. 57%, p = 0.027). The five-year OS in patients with higher ALC-15 was 78% vs. 60% in those with lower ALC-15 (p = 0.136). To conclude, the mobilization capacity of CD34+ cells and detailed measures of graft cellular content mark prognostic tools that predict ALC-15 ≥ 0.5 × 109/L, which is associated with a better outcome in NHL patients after AHCT.

Impact of plerixafor use in the mobilization of blood grafts for autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation

Plerixafor (PLER), a reversible antagonist of the CXC chemokine receptor type 4, has been in clinical use for mobilization of blood grafts for autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) for about 15 years. Initially PLER was investigated in placebo-controlled trials with the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) filgrastim. It has also been used in combination with chemotherapy plus G-CSF in patients who had failed a previous mobilization attempt or appeared to mobilize poorly with current mobilization (preemptive use). This review summarizes what is known regarding addition of PLER to standard mobilization regimens. PLER increases mobilization of CD34+ cells, decreases the number of apheresis sessions needed to achieve collection targets and increases the proportion of patients who can proceed to AHCT. It appears also to increase the amount of various lymphocyte subsets in the grafts collected. In general, hematologic recovery after AHCT has been comparable to patients mobilized without PLER, although slower platelet recovery has been observed in some studies of patients who mobilize poorly. In phase III studies, long-term outcome has been comparable to patients mobilized without PLER. This also appears to be the case in patients receiving plerixafor for poor or suboptimal mobilization of CD34+ cells. In practice, PLER is safe and has not been shown to increase tumor cell mobilization.

Trends in Late Mortality and Life Expectancy After Autologous Blood or Marrow Transplantation Over Three Decades: A BMTSS Report

PURPOSE

We determined trends in life expectancy and cause-specific late mortality after autologous blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) performed over a 30-year period, using the BMT Survivor Study.

METHODS

We constructed a cohort of 4,702 individuals with hematologic neoplasms who lived ≥ 2 years after autologous BMT performed between 1981 and 2014 at three transplant centers. The end of follow-up was April 19, 2021. The primary exposure variable was autologous BMT performed in four eras: 1981-1999; 2000-2005; 2006-2010; and 2011-2014. Vital status and cause of death were obtained from National Death Index Plus program and Accurinct databases.

RESULTS

The median age at BMT was 53 years (range, 0-78 years), 58.7% were male, 67.8% were non-Hispanic White, and 28.3% had undergone transplantation between 2011 and 2014. Autologous BMT recipients experienced a 7-year reduction in life expectancy. The adjusted hazard of 5-year all-cause mortality declined over the four eras (reference: 1981-1999; hazard ratio [HR]_2000-2005 = 0.77; 95% CI, 0.62 to 0.94; HR_2006-2010 = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.51 to 0.79; HR_2011-2014 = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.71; P_trend < .001), as did years of life lost (5.0 years to 1.6 years). The reduction in all-cause mortality was most pronounced among those transplanted for Hodgkin lymphoma or plasma cell dyscrasias, but was not observed among those transplanted for non-Hodgkin lymphoma or those conditioned with total-body irradiation. We also observed a decline in late deaths because of infection (P_trend < .0001; primarily for BMTs before 2006) and subsequent neoplasms (P_trend = .03; confined to decline in therapy-related myeloid neoplasm-related mortality) but not because of cardiovascular or renal disease.

CONCLUSION

Late mortality among autologous BMT recipients has declined over a 30-year period. However, ongoing efforts are needed to mitigate development of infections, subsequent neoplasms, and cardiovascular and renal disease to further reduce late mortality.