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Howley E, Davies EG, Kreins AY. Congenital Athymia: Unmet Needs and Practical Guidance. Ther Clin Risk Manag 2023; 19:239-254. [PMID: 36935770 PMCID: PMC10022451 DOI: 10.2147/tcrm.s379673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Inborn errors of thymic stromal cell development and function which are associated with congenital athymia result in life-threatening immunodeficiency with susceptibility to infections and autoimmunity. Athymic patients can be treated by thymus transplantation using cultured donor thymus tissue. Outcomes in patients treated at Duke University Medical Center and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) over the past three decades have shown that sufficient T-cell immunity can be recovered to clear and prevent infections, but post-treatment autoimmune manifestations are relatively common. Whilst thymus transplantation offers the chance of long-term survival, significant challenges remain to optimise the outcomes for the patients. In this review, we will discuss unmet needs and offer practical guidance based on the experience of the European Thymus Transplantation programme at GOSH. Newborn screening (NBS) for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and routine use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms have improved early recognition of congenital athymia and increasing numbers of patients are being referred for thymus transplantation. Nevertheless, there remain delays in diagnosis, in particular when the cause is genetically undefined, and treatment accessibility needs to be improved. The majority of athymic patients have syndromic features with acute and chronic complex health issues, requiring life-long multidisciplinary and multicentre collaboration to optimise their medical and social care. Comprehensive follow up after thymus transplantation including monitoring of immunological results, management of co-morbidities and patient and family quality-of-life experience, is vital to understanding long-term outcomes for this rare cohort of patients. Alongside translational research into improving strategies for thymus replacement therapy, patient-focused clinical research will facilitate the design of strategies to improve the overall care for athymic patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evey Howley
- Department of Immunology and Gene Therapy, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - E Graham Davies
- Department of Immunology and Gene Therapy, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Alexandra Y Kreins
- Department of Immunology and Gene Therapy, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Research & Teaching Department, University College London, London, UK
- Correspondence: Alexandra Y Kreins, Email
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Raj R, Aboobacker FN, Yadav SP, Uppuluri R, Bhat S, Choudhry D, Dua V, Kharya G, Rastogi N, Sachdev M, Khandelwal V, Swaminathan V, Bakane A, Ramakrishnan B, George B. Multicenter Outcome of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Primary Immune Deficiency Disorders in India. Front Immunol 2021; 11:606930. [PMID: 33488609 PMCID: PMC7819851 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.606930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the curative option for many primary immune deficiency disorders (PID). In the last 5 years, increased awareness, availability of diagnostics based on flow cytometry, genetic testing, improved supportive care, use of reduced toxicity conditioning, and success of haploidentical donor HSCT have improved access to HSCT for children with PID in India. We present results on children with PID who underwent HSCT across India and the factors that influenced outcome. Patients and Methods We collected retrospective data on the outcome of HSCT for PID from seven centers. We analyzed the impact of the type of PID, conditioning regimen, time period of HSCT- before or after January 2016, graft versus host disease prophylaxis, cause of mortality and overall survival. Results A total of 228 children underwent HSCT for PID at a median age of 12 months (range, 1 to 220 months) with a median follow up of 14.4 months. Infants accounted for 51.3% of the cohort and the male female ratio was 3:1. SCID (25%) and HLH (25%) were the more frequent diagnoses. Matched family donor was available in 36.4% and 44.3% children had a haploidentical HSCT. Reduced and myeloablative conditioning regimens were used with 64% children receiving a treosulfan based conditioning regimen. Peripheral blood stem cells were the predominant graft source at 69.3%. The survival in infants (60.2%) was inferior to children aged over 1 year (75.7% p value = 0.01). Children with Wiskott Aldrich syndrome (74.3%) and chronic granulomatous disease (82.6%) had the best outcomes. The survival was superior in children receiving HSCT from a matched sibling (78%) versus an alternate donor HSCT (61% p value = 0.04). In the cohort transplanted after January 2016 survival improved from 26.8% to 77.5% (p value = 0.00). Infection remains the main cause of mortality at in over 50% children. The 5-year overall survival rate was 68%. Conclusion Survival of children with PID undergoing HSCT in India has improved dramatically in last 5 years. Alternate donor HSCT is now feasible and has made a therapeutic option accessible to all children with PID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Revathi Raj
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Apollo Cancer Institutes, Chennai, India
| | | | | | - Ramya Uppuluri
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Apollo Cancer Institutes, Chennai, India
| | - Sunil Bhat
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Narayana Health City, Bangalore, India
| | - Dharma Choudhry
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, BLK Super Specialty Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Vikas Dua
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, India
| | - Gaurav Kharya
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | - Neha Rastogi
- Pediatric Hemato-Oncology & BMT Unit, Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon, India
| | - Mansi Sachdev
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, India
| | - Vipin Khandelwal
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, BLK Super Specialty Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Atish Bakane
- Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, India
| | | | - Biju George
- Department of Hematology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India
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