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Assi R, Masri N, Abou Dalle I, El-Cheikh J, Bazarbachi A. Post-Transplant Maintenance Therapy for Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Current Approaches and the Need for More Trials. J Blood Med 2021; 12:21-32. [PMID: 33531851 PMCID: PMC7847363 DOI: 10.2147/jbm.s270015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Relapse rates following allogeneic stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia remain unacceptably high and a major cause of death. Maintenance therapies post-transplant administered either to patients with impending relapse or at high risk of relapse could present a strategy to improve survival and overall outcomes. With the increasing use of molecular and genomic characterization of the disease, more novel therapies became available as maintenance strategies. These options were, however, hindered by excessive toxicities, mostly hematologic, especially with the use of myeloablative conditioning regimens. Several key questions have also emerged including the efficacy of these therapies, the duration of maintenance, as well as the potential modulation of the graft and the immune microenvironment. These issues are further complicated by the paucity of well-designed prospective randomized clinical trials evaluating these agents. Future directions in this field should include better risk stratification and patient selection based on assays of minimal residual disease, as well as the incorporation of novel targets and pathways of leukemogenesis. In this article, we highlight the current evidence behind the use of post-transplant maintenance therapy, the optimal patient and disease selection, as well as the challenges faced by these strategies in an area that remains quite controversial. We will focus on therapies targeting leukemia stem cells that directly or indirectly modulate the allografted immune microenvironment and augment the graft-versus-leukemia impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita Assi
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Lebanese American University and Lebanese American University Medical Center-Rizk Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Nohad Masri
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Lebanese American University and Lebanese American University Medical Center-Rizk Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Iman Abou Dalle
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Jean El-Cheikh
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Ali Bazarbachi
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
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Loke J, Malladi R, Moss P, Craddock C. The role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in the management of acute myeloid leukaemia: a triumph of hope and experience. Br J Haematol 2020; 188:129-146. [PMID: 31823351 PMCID: PMC6972492 DOI: 10.1111/bjh.16355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is the commonest indication for allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) worldwide. The accumulated experience of allografting in AML over the last four decades has provided critical insights into both the contribution of the conditioning regimen and the graft-versus-leukaemia effect to the curative potential of the most common form of immunotherapy utilised in standard clinical practice. Coupled with advances in donor availability and transplant technologies, this has resulted in allo-SCT becoming an important treatment modality for the majority of adults with high-risk AML. At the same time, advances in genomic classification, coupled with progress in the accurate quantification of measurable residual disease, have increased the precision with which allo-mandatory patients can be identified, whilst simultaneously permitting accurate identification of those patients who can be spared the toxicity of an allograft. Despite this progress, disease recurrence still remains a major cause of transplant failure and AML has served as a paradigm for the development of strategies to reduce the risk of relapse - notably the novel concept of post-transplant maintenance, utilising pharmacological or cellular therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Loke
- Centre for Clinical HaematologyQueen Elizabeth HospitalBirminghamUK
- University of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Ram Malladi
- Centre for Clinical HaematologyQueen Elizabeth HospitalBirminghamUK
- University of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Paul Moss
- Centre for Clinical HaematologyQueen Elizabeth HospitalBirminghamUK
- University of BirminghamBirminghamUK
| | - Charles Craddock
- Centre for Clinical HaematologyQueen Elizabeth HospitalBirminghamUK
- University of BirminghamBirminghamUK
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Rambaldi A, Grassi A, Masciulli A, Boschini C, Micò MC, Busca A, Bruno B, Cavattoni I, Santarone S, Raimondi R, Montanari M, Milone G, Chiusolo P, Pastore D, Guidi S, Patriarca F, Risitano AM, Saporiti G, Pini M, Terruzzi E, Arcese W, Marotta G, Carella AM, Nagler A, Russo D, Corradini P, Alessandrino EP, Torelli GF, Scimè R, Mordini N, Oldani E, Marfisi RM, Bacigalupo A, Bosi A. Busulfan plus cyclophosphamide versus busulfan plus fludarabine as a preparative regimen for allogeneic haemopoietic stem-cell transplantation in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia: an open-label, multicentre, randomised, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol 2015; 16:1525-1536. [DOI: 10.1016/s1470-2045(15)00200-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Revised: 07/22/2015] [Accepted: 07/24/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Grosso D, Gaballa S, Alpdogan O, Carabasi M, Filicko-O’Hara J, Kasner M, Martinez-Outschoorn U, Wagner JL, O'Hara W, Rudolph S, Chervoneva I, Colombe B, Farley PC, Flomenberg P, Pro B, Sharma M, Shi W, Weiss M, Flomenberg N. A Two-Step Approach to Myeloablative Haploidentical Transplantation: Low Nonrelapse Mortality and High Survival Confirmed in Patients with Earlier Stage Disease. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2015; 21:646-52. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2014.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2014] [Accepted: 12/17/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Bradbury C, Houlton AE, Akiki S, Gregg R, Rindl M, Khan J, Ward J, Khan N, Griffiths M, Nagra S, Hills R, Burnett A, Russell N, Vyas P, Grimwade D, Craddock C, Freeman SD. Prognostic value of monitoring a candidate immunophenotypic leukaemic stem/progenitor cell population in patients allografted for acute myeloid leukaemia. Leukemia 2014; 29:988-91. [PMID: 25425198 PMCID: PMC4391965 DOI: 10.1038/leu.2014.327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C Bradbury
- Centre for Clinical Haematology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - A E Houlton
- 1] Centre for Clinical Haematology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK [2] Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - S Akiki
- West Midlands Regional Genetics Laboratory, Birmingham Women's Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - R Gregg
- Centre for Clinical Haematology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - M Rindl
- West Midlands Regional Genetics Laboratory, Birmingham Women's Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - J Khan
- Centre for Clinical Haematology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - J Ward
- Centre for Clinical Haematology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - N Khan
- Department of Clinical Immunology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - M Griffiths
- West Midlands Regional Genetics Laboratory, Birmingham Women's Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - S Nagra
- Centre for Clinical Haematology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK
| | - R Hills
- Department of Haematology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - A Burnett
- Department of Haematology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - N Russell
- Department of Haematology, Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK
| | - P Vyas
- 1] MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, WIMM, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK [2] Department of Haematology, Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK
| | - D Grimwade
- 1] Department of Medical & Molecular Genetics, King's College London, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, London, UK [2] Department of Haematology, Guy's & St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - C Craddock
- 1] Centre for Clinical Haematology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK [2] Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - S D Freeman
- 1] Centre for Clinical Haematology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK [2] Department of Clinical Immunology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
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