Observational study on the current status of thalassaemia in Malaysia: a report from the Malaysian Thalassaemia Registry

OBJECTIVE

Thalassaemia is the most common inherited blood disorder in Malaysia. This study aims to report the current status of thalassaemia in Malaysia and provide a comprehensive understanding of the disease through data obtained from the Malaysian Thalassaemia Registry.

DESIGN

Data were extracted from the Malaysian Thalassaemia Registry, a web-based system accessible to enrolled users through www.mytalasemia.net.my.

SETTING

The Malaysian Thalassaemia Registry data was recorded from reports obtained from 110 participating government and university hospitals in Malaysia.

PARTICIPANTS

The patients were those attending the 110 participating hospitals for thalassaemia treatment.

INTERVENTION

Data were collected from the Malaysian Thalassaemia Registry from 2007 until the fourth quarter of 2018.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURE

7984 out of 8681 patients with thalassaemia registered in the Malaysian Thalassaemia Registry were reported alive.

RESULTS

Majority of the patients were reported in the state of Sabah (22.72%); the largest age group affected was 5.0-24.9 years old (64.45%); the largest ethnic group involved was Malay (63.95%); and the major diagnosis was haemoglobin E/β-thalassaemia (34.37%). From the 7984 patients, 56.73% were on regular blood transfusions and 61.72% were on chelation therapy. A small fraction (14.23%) has undergone splenectomy, while the percentage of patients with severe iron overload (serum ferritin ≥5000 µg/L) reduced over time. However, cardiac complications are still the main cause of death in patients with thalassaemia.

CONCLUSION

Data gathered into the registry can be used to understand the progression of the disorder, to monitor iron overload management and to improve the outcomes of treatment, to enhance preventive strategies, reduce healthcare burden and improve the quality of life. Sustainability of the Malaysian Thalassaemia Registry is important for surveillance of thalassaemia management in the country and help the national health authorities to develop more effective policies.

Lymphocyte counts may predict a good response to mesenchymal stromal cells therapy in graft versus host disease patients

Steroid-resistant GvHD is one of the most significant causes of mortality following allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT). Treatment with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) seems to be a promising solution, however the results from clinical studies are still equivocal. Better selection of candidate patients and improving monitoring of patients following MSC administration can increase treatment effectiveness. In order to determine which characteristics can be used to predict a good response and better monitoring of patients, blood samples were taken prior to therapy, one week and one month after therapy, from 26 allogeneic HSCT patients whom contracted GvHD and were treated with MSCs. Samples were examined for differential blood counts, bilirubin levels and cell surface markers. Serum cytokine levels were also measured. We found that the level of lymphocytes, in particular T and NK cells, may predict a good response to therapy. A better response was observed among patients who expressed low levels of IL-6 and IL-22, Th17 related cytokines, prior to therapy. Patients with high levels of bilirubin prior to therapy showed a poorer response. The results of this study may facilitate early prediction of success or failure of the treatment, and subsequently, will improve selection of patients for MSC therapy.

Unrelated Donor Transplantation in Children with Thalassemia using Reduced-Intensity Conditioning: The URTH Trial

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can cure transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT). In a multicenter trial we investigated the efficacy of reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) before unrelated donor (URD) HSCT in children with TDT. Thirty-three children, ages 1 to 17 years, received bone marrow (BM) or umbilical cord blood (UCB) allografts. Median time to neutrophil engraftment was 13 days (range, 10 to 25) and 24 days (range, 18 to 49) and platelet engraftment 23 days (range, 12 to 46) and 50 days (range, 31 to 234) after BM and UCB allografts, respectively. With a median follow-up of 58 months (range, 7 to 79), overall and thalassemia-free survival was 82% (95% CI, .64% to .92%) and 79% (95% CI, .6% to .9%), respectively. The cumulative incidence of grades II to IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after BM and UCB allografts was 24% and 44%; the 2-year cumulative incidence of chronic extensive GVHD was 29% and 21%, respectively; 71% of BM and 91% of UCB recipients discontinued systemic immunosuppression by 2 years. Six patients who had Pesaro risk class 2 (n = 5) and class 3 (n = 1) died of GVHD (n = 3), viral pneumonitis (n = 2) and pulmonary hemorrhage (n = 1). Outcomes after this RIC compared favorably with URD HSCT outcomes for TDT and supported engraftment in 32 of 33 patients. Efforts to reduce GVHD and infectious complications are being pursued further.

Deferasirox for managing iron overload in people with thalassaemia

BACKGROUND

Thalassaemia is a hereditary anaemia due to ineffective erythropoiesis. In particular, people with thalassaemia major develop secondary iron overload resulting from regular red blood cell transfusions. Iron chelation therapy is needed to prevent long-term complications.Both deferoxamine and deferiprone are effective; however, a review of the effectiveness and safety of the newer oral chelator deferasirox in people with thalassaemia is needed.

OBJECTIVES

To assess the effectiveness and safety of oral deferasirox in people with thalassaemia and iron overload.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group's Haemoglobinopathies Trials Register: 12 August 2016.We also searched MEDLINE, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Biosis Previews, Web of Science Core Collection and three trial registries: ClinicalTrials.gov; the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform; and the Internet Portal of the German Clinical Trials Register: 06 and 07 August 2015.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled studies comparing deferasirox with no therapy or placebo or with another iron-chelating treatment.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two authors independently assessed risk of bias and extracted data. We contacted study authors for additional information.

MAIN RESULTS

Sixteen studies involving 1807 randomised participants (range 23 to 586 participants) were included. Twelve two-arm studies compared deferasirox to placebo (two studies) or deferoxamine (seven studies) or deferiprone (one study) or the combination of deferasirox and deferoxamine to deferoxamine alone (one study). One study compared the combination of deferasirox and deferiprone to deferiprone in combination with deferoxamine. Three three-arm studies compared deferasirox to deferoxamine and deferiprone (two studies) or the combination of deferasirox and deferiprone to deferiprone and deferasirox monotherapy respectively (one study). One four-arm study compared two different doses of deferasirox to matching placebo groups.The two studies (a pharmacokinetic and a dose-escalation study) comparing deferasirox to placebo (n = 47) in people with transfusion-dependent thalassaemia showed that deferasirox leads to net iron excretion. In these studies, safety was acceptable and further investigation in phase II and phase III studies was warranted.Nine studies (1251 participants) provided data for deferasirox versus standard treatment with deferoxamine. Data suggest that a similar efficacy can be achieved depending on the ratio of doses of deferoxamine and deferasirox being compared. In the phase III study, similar or superior efficacy for the intermediate markers ferritin and liver iron concentration (LIC) could only be achieved in the highly iron-overloaded subgroup at a mean ratio of 1 mg of deferasirox to 1.8 mg of deferoxamine corresponding to a mean dose of 28.2 mg per day and 51.6 mg per day respectively. The pooled effects across the different dosing ratios are: serum ferritin, mean difference (MD) 454.42 ng/mL (95% confidence interval (CI) 337.13 to 571.71) (moderate quality evidence); LIC evaluated by biopsy or SQUID, MD 2.37 mg Fe/g dry weight (95% CI 1.68 to 3.07) (moderate quality evidence) and responder analysis, LIC 1 to < 7 mg Fe/g dry weight, risk ratio (RR) 0.80 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.92) (moderate quality evidence). The substantial heterogeneity observed could be explained by the different dosing ratios. Data on mortality (low quality evidence) and on safety at the presumably required doses for effective chelation therapy are limited. Patient satisfaction was better with deferasirox among those who had previously received deferoxamine treatment, RR 2.20 (95% CI 1.89 to 2.57) (moderate quality evidence). The rate of discontinuations was similar for both drugs (low quality evidence).For the remaining comparisons in people with transfusion-dependent thalassaemia, the quality of the evidence for outcomes assessed was low to very low, mainly due to the very small number of participants included. Four studies (205 participants) compared deferasirox to deferiprone; one of which (41 participants) revealed a higher number of participants experiencing arthralgia in the deferiprone group, but due to the large number of different types of adverse events reported and compared this result is uncertain. One study (96 participants) compared deferasirox combined with deferiprone to deferiprone with deferoxamine. Participants treated with the combination of the oral iron chelators had a higher adherence compared to those treated with deferiprone and deferoxamine, but no participants discontinued the study. In the comparisons of deferasirox versus combined deferasirox and deferiprone and that of deferiprone versus combined deferasirox and deferiprone (one study, 40 participants), and deferasirox and deferoxamine versus deferoxamine alone (one study, 94 participants), only a few patient-relevant outcomes were reported and no significant differences were observed.One study (166 participants) included people with non-transfusion dependent thalassaemia and compared two different doses of deferasirox to placebo. Deferasirox treatment reduced serum ferritin, MD -306.74 ng/mL (95% CI -398.23 to -215.24) (moderate quality evidence) and LIC, MD -3.27 mg Fe/g dry weight (95% CI -4.44 to -2.09) (moderate quality evidence), while the number of participants experiencing adverse events and rate of discontinuations (low quality evidence) was similar in both groups. No participant died, but data on mortality were limited due to a follow-up period of only one year (moderate quality evidence).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Deferasirox offers an important treatment option for people with thalassaemia and secondary iron overload. Based on the available data, deferasirox does not seem to be superior to deferoxamine at the usually recommended ratio of 1 mg of deferasirox to 2 mg of deferoxamine. However, similar efficacy seems to be achievable depending on the dose and ratio of deferasirox compared to deferoxamine. Whether this will result in similar efficacy and will translate to similar benefits in the long term, as has been shown for deferoxamine, needs to be confirmed. Data from randomised controlled trials on rare toxicities and long-term safety are still limited. However, after a detailed discussion of the potential benefits and risks, deferasirox could be offered as the first-line option to individuals who show a strong preference for deferasirox, and may be a reasonable treatment option for people showing an intolerance or poor adherence to deferoxamine.

Outcomes of thalassemia patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation by using a standard myeloablative versus a novel reduced-toxicity conditioning regimen according to a new risk stratification

Improving outcomes among class 3 thalassemia patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantations (HSCT) remains a challenge. Before HSCT, patients who were ≥ 7 years old and had a liver size ≥ 5 cm constitute what the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research defined as a very high-risk subset of a conventional high-risk class 3 group (here referred to as class 3 HR). We performed HSCT in 98 patients with related and unrelated donor stem cells. Seventy-six of the patients with age < 10 years received the more conventional myeloablative conditioning (MAC) regimen (cyclophosphamide, busulfan, ± fludarabine); the remaining 22 patients with age ≥ 10 years and hepatomegaly (class 3 HR), and in several instances additional comorbidity problems, underwent HSCT with a novel reduced-toxicity conditioning (RTC) regimen (fludarabine and busulfan). We then compared the outcomes between these 2 groups (MAC versus RTC). Event-free survival (86% versus 90%) and overall survival (95% versus 90%) were not significantly different between the respective groups; however, there was a higher incidence of serious treatment-related complications in the MAC group, and although we experienced 6 graft failures in the MAC group (8%), there were none in the RTC group. Based on these results, we suggest that (1) class 3 HR thalassemia patients can safely receive HSCT with our novel RTC regimen and achieve the same excellent outcome as low/standard-risk thalassemia patients who received the standard MAC regimen, and further, (2) that this novel RTC approach should be tested in the low/standard-risk patient population.

A synopsis of current care of thalassaemia major patients in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVE

To provide a synopsis of current thalassaemia major patient care in Hong Kong.

DESIGN

Retrospective study.

SETTING

All haematology units of the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong.

PATIENTS

All patients with thalassaemia major with regular transfusion.

RESULTS

To date, there were 363 thalassaemia major patients under the care of the Hospital Authority. Prenatal diagnosis has helped to reduce the number of indigenous new cases, but in recent years immigrant cases are appearing. The patients have a mean age of 23 (range, 1-52) years, and 78% of them are adults. In 2009, they received 18 782 units of blood. This accounted for 9.5% of all blood consumption from the Hong Kong Red Cross. In the past, cardiac iron overload was the major cause of death (65%) and few patients survived beyond the age of 45 years. The availability of cardiac iron assessment by magnetic resonance imaging (T2 MRI) to direct the use of oral deferiprone chelation has reduced the prevalence of heart failure and cardiac haemosiderosis, which should reduce mortality and improve life expectancy.

CONCLUSION

The future for thalassaemia care in Hong Kong is bright. With better transfusion and chelation, it should be possible to avoid growth and endocrine deficiencies in younger patients.

Umbilical cord blood transplantation for children with thalassemia and sickle cell disease

We examined the efficacy of unrelated cord blood (CB) transplantation in children with thalassemia (n = 35) and sickle cell disease (n = 16), using data reported to 3 registries. Donor-recipient pairs were matched at HLA-A and -B (antigen level) and DRB1 (allele level) in 7 or HLA mismatched at 1 (n = 18), 2 (n = 25), or 3 loci (n = 1). Transplant conditioning was myeloablative (n = 39) or reduced intensity (n = 12). Neutrophil recovery with donor chimerism was documented in 24 patients; 11 patients developed grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) and 10 patients, chronic GVHD (cGVHD). Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were 62% and 21% for thalassemia and 94% and 50% for sickle cell disease (SCD), respectively. In multivariate analysis, engraftment rate (hazard ratio [HR] 2.2, P = .05) and DFS (HR 0.4, P = .01) were higher with cell dose >5 × 10(7)/kg. The 2-year probability of DFS was 45% in patients who received grafts with cell dose >5 × 10(7)/kg and 13% with lower cell dose. Primary graft failure was the predominant cause of treatment failure occurring in 20 patients with thalassemia and 7 patients with SCD. Primary graft failure was fatal in 5 patients with thalassemia. These results suggest that only CB units containing an expected infused cell dose >5 × 10(7)/kg should be considered for transplantation for hemoglobinopathy.

Comparison of peripheral blood stem cell transplant with bone marrow transplant in class 3 thalassemic patients

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to compare outcome of bone marrow transplant with peripheral blood stem cell transplant in class 3 thalassemic patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Respectively, 32 and 20 class 3 thalassemic patients received bone marrow transplant and peripheral blood stem cell transplant from human leukocyte antigen identical sibling donors. Conditioning regimen consisted of busulfan (16 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (160 mg/kg) followed by cyclosporine and methotrexate as graft-versus-host disease prophylaxes.

RESULTS

Median time to absolute neutrophil count was significantly shorter in the peripheral blood stem cell transplant group (12 vs 23 days); however, there was no significant difference regarding platelet recovery between the 2 groups (20 vs 28 days). Acute graft-versus-host disease occurred in 47% of patients. Chronic graft-versus-host disease developed in 28% of patients which was significantly higher in the peripheral blood stem cell transplant group (P = .06). During 50 months follow-up, thalassemia recurrence, overall survival, and thalassemia-free survival were 17%, 80%, and 65%, respectively, and there were no significant differences between the 2 groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These results showed that stem cell transplant is an effective treatment in class 3 thalassemic patients with the outcome relatively similar to bone marrow transplant. Although engraftment time is shorter in peripheral blood stem cell transplant method, it is associated with higher rate of chronic graft-versus-host disease.

Modelling survival data of thalassaemia patients in Pakistan

BACKGROUND

Fatimid Foundation with its centers serves as a charitable organization for millions of blood disease carriers in Pakistan. This retrospective survival study is an analysis of the Thalassaemia patients registered in Multan centre who are followed up to nine years to assess the gender risk of death.

METHODS

Data on 120 patients of Thalassaemia during 1994-2002 was analyzed. The standard Kaplan-Meier and Nelson-Aalen procedures were used to compare the survival function of the male and female patients of Thalassaemia. The statistical significance was also assessed using log rank test. The Cox Proportional Hazards (PH) model using a forward selection procedure was used to identify the potential factors associated with the increase risk of death.

RESULTS

By ignoring the censoring, the average survival time of males and females were calculated to be 1308.1 and 1574.7 days respectively. The average hazard rate for the female group was 0.00033 and for the male group it was 0.00061. The median survival time was estimated from the Kaplan-Meier survival curves (Males: 1400 days, Females: 1785 days). Under the censoring mechanism, the mean survival time for males was calculated to be 1465.82 days with standard error of 146 days, where as for females it was calculated to be 1855.26 with standard error of 151.82 days. When considering death as event of interest Under the Cox modelling approach, we found a male patient of Thalassaemia was 1.484 times more likely to die when compared to his female counterpart. When considering the iron over load as the event of interest, we found a male patient of Thalassaemia was 1.753 fold more likely to reach excessive Haemochromatosis level compared to female patient.

CONCLUSION

The analysis reinforces that female group prognosis is better than the male group. Further, our analysis of real survival data set shows that the high status of Haemochromatosis level is associated with the increased risk of death in patients with Thalassaemia with other possible confounders.

Morbidity and mortality in chronically transfused subjects with thalassemia and sickle cell disease: A report from the multi-center study of iron overload

A natural history study was conducted in 142 Thalassemic (Thal), 199 transfused Sickle Cell Disease (Tx-SCD, n = 199), and 64 non-Tx-SCD subjects to describe the frequency of iron-related morbidity and mortality. Subjects recruited from 31 centers in the US, Canada or the UK were similar with respect to age (overall: 25 +/- 11 years, mean +/- SD) and gender (52% female). We found that Tx-SCD subjects were hospitalized more frequently compared with Thal or non-Tx-SCD (P < 0.001). Among those hospitalized, Tx-SCD adult subjects were more likely to be unemployed compared with Thal (RR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.5) or non-Tx-SCD (RR = 3.1, 95% CI 1.3-7.3). There was a positive relationship between the severity of iron overload, assessed by serum ferritin, and the frequency of hospitalizations (r= 0.20; P = 0.009). Twenty-three deaths were reported (6 Thal, 17 Tx-SCD) in 23.5 +/- 10 months of follow-up. Within the Tx-SCD group, those who died began transfusion (25.3 vs. 12.4 years, P < 0.001) and chelation therapy later (26.8 vs. 14.2 years, P = 0.01) compared with those who survived. The unadjusted death rate in Thal was lower (2.2/100 person years) compared with that in Tx-SCD (7.0/100 person years; RR = 0.38: 95% CI 0.12-0.99). However, no difference was observed when age at death was considered. Despite improvements in therapy, death rate in this contemporary sample of transfused adult subjects with Thal or SCD is 3 times greater than the general US population. Long term follow-up of this unique cohort of subjects will be helpful in further defining the relationship of chronic, heavy iron overload to morbidity and mortality.

Survival of medically treated thalassemia patients in Cyprus. Trends and risk factors over the period 1980-2004

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

A large number of patients with thalassemia major have been born and treated exclusively in Cyprus. They have been managed according to standard international practice, but few have been transplanted. In 1999, a combination chelation regime with desferrioxamine and deferiprone was introduced. We analyzed survival trends in Cypriots and tried to identify factors associated with prolonged survival.

DESIGN AND METHODS

We had incomplete information on births pre-1974 and complete information from 1974 onwards. Clinical data were incomplete pre-1980 and complete thereafter. We analyzed data on 539 patients born after 1960 and followed over the period 1980 to the end of 2004.

RESULTS

There were 58 deaths, 31 (53.4%) of which where due to cardiac causes. In the complete birth cohort of 284 patients born after 1974, survival (95% CI) at 10, 20 and 30 years was 100% (0); 98.5% (96.1-99.4) and 92.7% (86.7-96.1) respectively. There was a significant trend of increasing cardiac deaths between 1980 and 2000 (p<0.001) and a decline after 2000 (p=0.06). In multivariate survival analysis, protective effects were found for female sex (hazard ratio, 0.37, 95% CI 0.21-0.66; p<0.001), and post-2000 follow-up (hazard ratio, 0.44, 95% CI 0.20-0.99; p<0.05), but not for genotype, treatment center or birth cohort.

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS

Most patients born after 1974 survive to at least the age of 30. There has been a marked improvement in survival for patients of all ages since 2000, which may be due to the introduction of combination chelation therapy.

Microcytosis in agnogenic myeloid metaplasia: Prevalence and clinical correlates

Microcytosis is a characteristic laboratory feature for both iron deficiency anemia and thalassemia. It is also infrequently seen in "anemia of chronic disease" that accompanies a spectrum of chronic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, diabetes mellitus, connective tissue disease, and protracted infection. In addition, there is a well established but pathogenetically obscure association of microcytosis with Hodgkin's lymphoma, Castleman's disease, and renal cell carcinoma. In the current study, we show that microcytosis is a frequent laboratory feature in agnogenic myeloid metaplasia and investigate its clinical relevance in the particular setting.

Infections and thalassaemia

Infections are major complications and constitute the second most common cause of mortality and a main cause of morbidity in patients with thalassaemia, a group of genetic disorders of haemoglobin synthesis characterised by a disturbance of globin chain production. Thalassaemias are among the most common genetic disorders in the world. Predisposing factors for infections in thalassaemic patients include severe anaemia, iron overload, splenectomy, and a range of immune abnormalities. Major causative organisms of bacterial infections in thalassaemic patients are Klebsiella spp in Asia and Yersinia enterocolitica in western countries. Transfusion-associated viral infections (especially hepatitis C) can lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. A unique and challenging infection detected in Asian patients is pythiosis, caused by a fungus-like organism, the mortality rate of which is very high. Because the prognosis for thalassaemia has much improved, with many patients surviving to the fifth decade of life in developed countries, it is mandatory to reduce mortality by recognising and presumptively treating infections in these patients as quickly as possible.

Effects of chimerism on graft-versus-host disease, disease recurrence, and survival after HLA-identical marrow transplantation in Iran

BACKGROUND

The coexistence of recipient's and donor's hematopoietic systems after allogeneic marrow transplantation is called mixed chimerism.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of MC on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), disease recurrence, and survival after HLA identical marrow transplantation in a transplant center in Iran.

METHODS

The association of MC with acute GVHD, disease recurrence, survival, and relapse-free survival was investigated in 91 patients who underwent either bone (n = 12) or peripheral blood (n = 79) HLA-identical marrow transplantation. Chimerism was assessed using multiplex amplification of short tandem repeats (STR). Patients had thalassemia (n = 19), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) (n = 29), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) (n = 20), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) (n = 18), and other diseases (n = 5). The median age was 21 (range: 3 - 50) years. There were 38 (42%) female and 53 (58%) male participants. Conditioning was made through busulfan plus cyclophosphamide in 34 patients; busulfan plus fludarabin in 51 patients; and busulfan plus fludarabin plus antithymocyte globulin in 6 patients. The median follow-up was 13 months.

RESULTS

On day +30, complete chimerism (CC) was observed in 72 (79%) patients, MC in 15 (17%), and no chimerism in 4 patients. The incidence of acute GVHD was significantly (P = 0.01) lower in mixed chimeras than in complete chimeras. There was no significant difference in acute GVHD grade (I, II vs. III, IV) between the two groups. The incidence of relapse was 18%. There was no difference in relapse rate between MC and CC groups. Overall survival was 89%. There was no significant difference in the overall survival between MC and CC group (96% vs. 85%, respectively). Relapse-free survival was 80% that was not significantly different between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Despite some previous reports, we found no significant difference in the survival and relapse rates between MC and CC groups.

Decision-making in adult thalassemia patients undergoing unrelated bone marrow transplantation: quality of life, communication and ethical issues

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) represents a potentially curative treatment of thalassemia. For patients without an HLA-identical sibling donor, recourse to an unrelated donor is a practicable option but the candidates and their families are faced with a difficult decision. They can either choose to continue the supportive therapy, with no chance of definitive cure, or they accept the mortality risk of BMT in the hope of obtaining a definitive resolution of the disease. We investigated the communication strategies and the post transplantation quality of life (QoL) in 19 adult thalassemia patients surviving after an unrelated donor BMT. The patients were given two questionnaires: a questionnaire to evaluate pre-transplantation communication factors and the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire to assess global QoL. All patients were satisfied with the communication modalities employed by the physicians. The global post transplantation QoL in our patient cohort was found to be good. The approach used in this study may offer a contribution to understanding the decision-making process leading to the choice of a treatment with a high mortality risk for a chronic, non-malignant disease. Finally, some ethical issues of this therapeutic approach are briefly addressed.

Bone Marrow Transplantation in Adults with Thalassemia: Treatment and Long-Term Follow-Up

Current regular blood transfusion programs and chelation treatment have considerably improved survival of patients with thalassemia, which resulted in a larger proportion of adult patients. However, disease- and treatment-related complications in these patients progress over time, causing severe morbidity and shortened life expectancy. Stem cell transplantation still remains the only cure currently available for patients with thalassemia. This study updates transplant outcomes in 107 adult patients with median age of 22 years (range, 17-35 years) who received bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical related donors between 1988 and 1996 (group A) and describes the results of BMT in 15 adult patients with median age of 21 years (range, 17-31 years) who were treated with a new treatment protocol (Protocol 26) between 1997 and 2003 (group B). The probability of survival, event-free survival, nonrejection mortality, and rejection for group A patients were 66%, 62%, 37%, and 4%, respectively, with a median follow-up of 12 years (range, 8.3-16.2 years). Group B patients treated with the new protocol had some improvement in thalassemia-free survival (67%) and lower transplant-related mortality (27%) than that of previous protocols. However, transplant-related mortality in these high-risk patients remains elevated. Current myeloablative BMT in adult patients is characterized by higher transplant-related toxicity due to an advanced phase of disease. Although this new approach to transplant adult patients with a reduced-dose intensity-conditioning regimen has improved thalassemia-free survival, transplant-related mortality in these high-risk patients remains elevated.

Unrelated donor stem cell transplantation in adult patients with thalassemia

Allogeneic SCT remains the only potential cure for patients with thalassemia. However, most BMT candidates lack a suitable family donor and require an unrelated donor (UD). We evaluated whether BMT using UDs in high-risk adult thalassemia patients can offer a probability of cure comparable to that reported employing an HLA-compatible sibling as donor. A total of 27 adult thalassemia patients (15 males and 12 females, median age 22 years) underwent BMT from a UD selected by high-resolution HLA molecular typing. The conditioning regimen consisted of Busulphan (BU, 14 mg/kg) plus Cyclophosphamide (CY, 120 or 160 mg/kg) in 12 cases and BU (14 mg/kg), Thiotepa (10 mg/kg) and CY (120-160 mg/kg) in the remaining 15 cases. Cyclosporine-A and short-term Methotrexate were used for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. In all, 19 patients (70%) are alive and transfusion-independent after a median follow-up of 43 months (range 16-137). A total of 10 patients (37%) developed grade II-IV acute GVHD and six (27%) chronic GVHD. Eight patients (30%) died from transplant-related causes. UD-BMT can cure more than two-thirds of adult thalassemia patients, and is a particularly attractive option for patients who are not compliant with conventional treatment.

Survival and complications in patients with thalassemia major treated with transfusion and deferoxamine

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Seven Italian centers reported data on survival, causes of death and appearance of complications in patients with thalassemia major. The interactions between gender, birth cohort, complications, and ferritin on survival and complications were analyzed.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Survival after the first decade was studied for 977 patients born since 1960 whereas survival since birth and complication appearance was studied for the 720 patients born after 1970. Better survival was demonstrated for patients born in more recent years (p<0.00005) and for females (p=0.0003); 68% of the patients are alive at the age of 35 years. In the entire population 67% of the deaths were due to heart disease.

RESULTS

There was a significant association between birth cohort and complication-free survival (p<0.0005). The prevalence of complications was: heart failure 6.8%, arrhythmia 5.7%, hypogonadism 54.7%, hypothyroidism 10.8%, diabetes 6.4%, HIV infection 1.7%, and thrombosis 1.1%. Lower ferritin levels were associated with a lower probability of heart failure (hazard ratio =3.35, p<0.005) and with prolonged survival (hazard ratio = 2.45, p<0.005), using a cut-off as low as 1,000 ng/mL.

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS

Survival and complication-free survival of patients with thalassemia major continue to improve, especially for female patients born shortly before or after the availability of iron chelation.

New approach for bone marrow transplantation in patients with class 3 thalassemia aged younger than 17 years

When prepared for transplantation with busulfan (BU) 14 mg/kg and cyclophosphamide (CY) 120 to 160 mg/kg, patients with thalassemia in risk class 3, aged younger than 17 years, who receive transplants from HLA-identical donors, had a 30% incidence of transplant rejection with recurrence of thalassemia. This, relatively poor, outcome was ascribed to insufficient immune suppression or to inadequate eradication of the thalassemic marrow, or both. In an attempt to enhance both immune suppression and eradication of the thalassemic clones, hydroxyurea, azathioprine, and fludarabine were added to the BU and CY. This regimen, called protocol 26, was applied to 33 consecutive patients with class 3 thalassemia aged younger than 17 years and was well tolerated with 93% survival. The incidence of recurrent thalassemia after the transplantation decreased from 30% to 8%.

Outcome of transplantation with unrelated donor bone marrow in children with severe thalassaemia

SUMMARY

We conducted a study of unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in 11 children with severe thalassaemia. The conditioning regimen consisted of busulphan, cyclophosphamide and antilymphocyte globulin. All received T-cell nondepleted bone marrow. The median marrow-nucleated cell dose was 4.9 x 10(8) /kg (range; 3.5-8.0 x 10(8) /kg). Median time of granulocyte recovery was 16 days (range; 13-21 days), and of platelet recovery was 39 days (range; 14-196). Grade 2-4 acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed in six patients (54%), and grade 3-4 in one patient (9%). Three (27%) of 11 evaluable patients had chronic GVHD (limited stage). All 11 patients are alive without thalassaemia after a median follow-up time of 397 days (range; 171-814 days). This study lends support to consideration of unrelated donor BMT as an acceptable therapy to cure severe thalassaemia especially in patients who are young and do not yet show irreversible severe complications of iron overload.

A thalassemic child becomes adult

In the last decades, treatment of patients with beta-thalassemia has changed considerably, with advances in red cell transfusion and the introduction of iron chelation therapy. This progress has greatly increased the probability for a thalassemic child to reach adult age with a good quality of life. At present, the prognosis for thalassemia major patients is "open-ended". Compliance with the conventional treatment and psychological support are critical to obtain good results. The expectancy of a long survival of good quality encourages the patients to plan their future life, having a job, a family and often children. Optimal treatment of thalassemia major is expensive and for this reason, unfortunately, available only for a minority of patients in the world. Despite the significant advances, other progresses are expected to further improve survival and quality of life. The major aim is the cure of the disease, increasing the possibility of bone marrow transplantation using HLA-matched unrelated donors, and hopefully, in the future, gene therapy. However, even the conventional treatment and in particular iron chelation is expected to improve. Efforts should be made by the Western countries, and by the international health and economic organizations to provide continuous and concrete support for achieving a high standard of management for thalassemia in all places of the world.

Unrelated donor bone marrow transplantation for thalassemia: the effect of extended haplotypes

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from a genotypically identical family donor is an accepted therapeutic option for homozygous beta-thalassemia. However, only a minority of patients have access to this curative procedure. The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility of matched unrelated transplants in thalassemia and the possibility of reducing the risk of immunologic complications through careful selection of donor/recipient pairs. Since November 1992, 32 patients (age range, 2-28 years) have been enrolled. There were 4 patients assigned to risk-class I, 11 to risk-class II, and 17 to risk-class III of the Pesaro classification. Extended haplotype analysis and family segregation studies were employed for identification of suitable donors. Of the 32 donor/recipient pairs, 24 were identical for HLA-A, B, C, DRB1, DRB3, DRB4, DRB5, DQA1, and DQB1 loci; 7 pairs were identical for 2 extended haplotypes, and 15 pairs shared one extended haplotype. Grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) developed in 11 cases (41%) and chronic GVHD in 6 (25%) out of 24 patients at risk. There are 22 patients (69%) who are alive and transfusion-independent after a median follow-up of 30 months (range, 7-109 months). There were 6 patients (19%) who engrafted and subsequently died from transplant-related complications. In 4 cases (12.5%) graft rejection was observed within 30 days and it was followed by autologous reconstitution. Out of 22 patients with a donor identical for at least one extended haplotype, there are 19 who survived, 17 of them being transfusion-independent. Among the 10 recipients who did not share any extended haplotype with the donor, only 5 are alive without thalassemia and 3 patients died. Of the 6 patients who died, 5 belonged to risk-class III and only 1 to risk-class II. BMT from well-selected unrelated donors may offer results comparable to those obtained in transplantations using HLA-identical family donors, especially for patients with lesser iron overload.

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in patients with malignant haematological diseases: 10 years' experience of infection in GIMEMA centres

A retrospective survey was conducted over a 10-year period (1990-99) among 52 haematology divisions in order to evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics and outcome of patients with proven Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) complicating haematological diseases. The study included 55 patients (18 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 10 with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, eight with acute myeloid leukaemia, five with chronic myeloid leukaemia, four with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, four with multiple myeloma, three with myelodysplastic syndrome, two with myelofibrosis and one with thalassemia) who developed PCP. Among these, 18 (33%) underwent stem cell transplantation; only two received an oral prophylaxis with trimethroprim/sulphamethoxazole. Twelve patients (22%) developed PCP despite protective isolation in a laminar airflow room. The most frequent symptoms were: fever (86%), dyspnoea (78%), non-productive cough (71%), thoracic pain (14%) and chills (5%); a severe hypoxaemia was present in 39 patients (71%). Chest radiography or computerized tomography showed interstitial infiltrates in 34 patients (62%), alveolar infiltrates in 12 patients (22%), and alveolar-interstitial infiltrates in nine patients (16%). Bronchoalveolar lavage was diagnostic in 47/48 patients, induced sputum in 9/18 patients and lung biopsy in 3/8 patients. The diagnosis was made in two patients at autopsy. All patients except one started a specific treatment (52 patients trimethroprim/sulphamethoxazole, one pentamidine and one dapsone). Sixteen patients (29%) died of PCP within 30 d of diagnosis. Multivariate analysis showed that prolonged steroid treatment (P < 0.006) and a radiological picture of diffuse lung involvement (P < 0.003) were negative diagnostic factors.

Unrelated and HLA-nonidentical related donor marrow transplantation for thalassemia and leukemia. A combined report from the Seattle Marrow Transplant Team and the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry

Allogeneic marrow transplantation is curative therapy for thalassemia, but fewer than 30% of patients have an HLA-identical sibling marrow donor. Selection of alternative donors of hematopoietic stem cells (unrelated individuals or HLA-nonidentical family members) has been aided by establishment of world-wide donor registries now exceeding 3.6 million volunteers and by DNA-based HLA typing to more closely match potential donors. Coupled with improved methods to control graft-versus-host disease and prevent fungal and cytomegalovirus infection, remarkable progress has been made in alternative donor transplantation. For patients 50 years of age or younger, with recently diagnosed chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in chronic phase, 1- and 5-year survivals after HLA-A, B, DRB1 identical unrelated marrow transplantation in Seattle are 82% and 74%, respectively. These results are essentially identical to outcome in similar patients given HLA-matched sibling allografts. However, the world-wide number of alternative donor transplants for thalassemia remains limited to date: 4 unrelated and 60 HLA-nonidentical related transplants have been reported to the IBMTR since 1969 with actuarial overall survival of 75%. Using the paradigm of CML, it is likely that access to curative therapy of thalassemia will improve with optimal HLA typing and donor selection early in the course of disease.

A more immunosuppressive pre-transplant conditioning may be required for Chinese patients with thalassaemia

Bone marrow transplantation was performed on 14 Chinese patients with transfusion dependent thalassaemia major (n = 13) and haemoglobin H disease (n = 1). The donors were HLA identical siblings. The source of haematopoietic stem cells were from bone marrow (n = 13) and umbilical cord blood (n = 1). The pre-transplant conditioning regimens were (1) busulphan 14 mg/kg and cyclophosphamide 200 mg/kg in two patients; (2) busulphan 16 mg/kg, cyclophosphamide 200 mg/kg and anti-thymocyte globulin 110 mg/kg in five patients; (3) busulphan 16 mg/kg, cyclophosphamide 150 mg/kg and anti-thymocyte globulin 110 mg/kg in seven patients. Graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis was cyclosporin A and methotrexate. All patients engrafted and achieved stable haematopoiesis except the one who underwent the umbilical cord blood transplant, who had autologous marrow recovery. One patient who had stable engraftment rejected the marrow graft and developed aplastic anaemia 4 months after BMT. This patient had a second BMT but rejection recurred again. She eventually died of septicaemia. The other 12 patients were transfusion independent and disease free. The majority have gone back to school or work. Disease-free and actuarial survival probability were 85 and 93%, respectively with a median follow-up time of 30 months (13 to 42 months). Our data suggest that BMT from HLA identical siblings for transfusion dependent thalassaemia gives a high chance of cure with acceptable mortality and morbidity, and that a more immunosuppressive pre-transplant conditioning schedule may be required to prevent rejection.

Bone marrow transplantation for thalassaemia: experience of two British centres

Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was carried out on 38 patients with thalassaemia major over a period of 9 years; 30 were Asian. In all cases, the donor was an HLA-identical relative. The mean age at transplant was 6.4 years (range 0.5-20 years). Conditioning was busulphan and cyclophosphamide (CY). Cyclosporin (CsA) (n = 30), CsA + methotrexate (n = 6) or CsA + T cell depletion (n = 2) were used for prophylaxis against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Thirty-four patients successfully engrafted. Two patients required a second transplant and two achieved mixed chimerism, eventually rejecting their grafts. Nine patients (23.6) developed acute GVHD grade III-IV. Eleven patients (28.9) developed chronic GVHD. There were 11 deaths, 7 within the first 100 days post-BMT. Twenty-seven patients are alive from 156 to 3213 days post-BMT. The actuarial survival at 9 years post-BMT was 70%. The mortality is higher than in previously reported series; possible reasons for this are discussed.

[Management of beta-thalassemias in a developing country. Experience of a pediatric service in Oran (Algeria)]

The management of beta-thalassemia in a developing country faces a host of organizational, logistic, and funding problems. Experience acquired against this background of multiple deficiencies is reported here. Only 60% of children with documented beta-thalassemia were monitored more or less regularly. The remaining 40% died or were lost to follow-up. Clinical results were acceptable in terms of growth but transfusion goals (pretransfusion Hb greater than or equal to 10 g/dl) were achieved in only 7% of cases and adverse effects to transfusions proved difficult to prevent. Lastly, funding remained grossly inadequate since only 5.4% of actual costs in drugs and small equipment were covered. This lack of funds has a major impact on decision-making concerning the care of this type of patient.

Bone marrow transplantation in thalassemia

Since 1983, 350 patients aged 1 to 19 years with beta-homozygous thalassemia were given infusions of HLA-identical marrow after high doses of busulphan and cyclophosphamide. Survival and event-free survival leveled off about 1 year after bone marrow transplantation at 82% and 75%, respectively. In 172 consecutive patients who were treated with our current regimen since June 1985, a multivariate analysis demonstrated that portal fibrosis, hepatomegaly, and a history of inadequate chelation therapy were significantly associated with reduced probabilities of survival and event-free survival. The patients were divided into three classes on the basis of the presence of hepatomegaly, portal fibrosis, and inadequate chelation therapy. Class 1 had none of the factors and class 3 had all three factors; class 2 had different associations of two out of the three factors. For class 1 patients, the 3-year probabilities of survival and event-free survival were 97% and 94%, respectively. For class 2 patients, the probabilities were 86% and 83%, and for class 3 patients, 58% and 52%. Bone marrow transplantation from HLA-identical donors is followed by a high probability of event-free survival in thalassemic patients, particularly if they belong to class 1.

Prolonged survival in patients with beta-thalassemia major treated with deferoxamine

To determine whether survival of patients with beta-thalassemia major has been prolonged by management that utilizes hypertransfusion and chelation with deferoxamine, we analyzed longevity by the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Group 1 patients (n = 71) followed between 1960 and 1976 with a low-transfusion regimen (pretransfusion hemoglobin level 7 to 8 gm/dl) and no chelation had an estimated median age of survival of 17.4 years, whereas it was 31.0 years for group 2 subjects (n = 80), who began hypertransfusion between 1976 and 1978 (pretransfusion hemoglobin level 10.5 to 11.5 gm/dl) and chelation with deferoxamine (20 to 60 mg/kg per day) (p less than 0.0001). For 70 patients who were treated with hypertransfusion and deferoxamine, we had data to calculate the ratio of total milligrams of transfusional iron to cumulative grams of deferoxamine. The 24 patients who died had a total iron burden of greater than 1.05 gm/kg; the ratio for them exceeded 31. These patients were characterized by poor compliance with chelation or by late start of therapy, with inability to receive enough deferoxamine before death. Death was preceded by arrhythmia requiring therapy in all but one, and by cardiac failure in all. Of 41 similarly iron-loaded survivors, 33 had a ratio of less than 31; only three had an arrhythmia, and five had cardiac failure. We conclude that treatment with deferoxamine, when used in amounts proportional to iron burden, delayed cardiac complications and improved longevity.

Average life expectancy of heterozygous beta thalassemic subjects

In order to define the lifespan of heterozygous beta thalassemic subjects as compared to non thalassemic subjects, the authors prospectively studied all patients deceased during a period of 76 months at St. Camillo Hospital of Comacchio (Ferrara), located in the Po delta, a region with high prevalence of thalassemia minor. No statistically significant differences were found in the average life expectancy between the thalassemic and non thalassemic groups.

Bone marrow transplantation in patients with thalassemia

We reviewed the results of transplantation of allogeneic marrow from HLA-identical donors in patients with beta-thalassemia who were less than 16 years old. Among the 222 consecutive patients who had received transplants since 1983, survival and event-free-survival curves leveled off about one year after transplantation, at 82 and 75 percent, respectively. Pretransplantation clinical characteristics were examined for their impact on survival, event-free survival, and the recurrence of thalassemia in the 116 consecutive patients who were treated with our current regimen, in use since June 1985. In a multivariate analysis, portal fibrosis and either the presence of hepatomegaly or a history of inadequate chelation therapy were significantly associated with reduced probabilities of survival and event-free survival. The patients were divided into three classes on the basis of the presence of hepatomegaly or portal fibrosis (class 1 had neither factor, class 2 had one, and class 3 had both). For class 1 patients the three-year probabilities of survival, event-free survival, and recurrence were 94, 94, and 0 percent, respectively. For class 2 patients the probabilities were 80, 77, and 9 percent, and for class 3 patients 61, 53, and 16 percent. We conclude that for patients under 16 years of age, transplantation of bone marrow from an HLA-identical donor offers a high probability of complication-free survival, particularly if they do not have hepatomegaly or portal fibrosis.

Mortality in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease. Cooperative Study of Sickle Cell Disease

A study of the natural history of sickle hemoglobinopathies was begun in March 1979. By August 1987, a total of 2824 patients less than 20 years of age were enrolled. There have been 14,670 person-years of follow-up. Seventy-three deaths have occurred. Most of the deaths were in patients with hemoglobin SS. The peak incidence of death was between 1 and 3 years of age, and the major cause in these young patients was infection. Cerebrovascular accidents and traumatic events exceeded infections as a cause of death in patients greater than 10 years of age. There was limited success in identifying risk factors for death. Comparison of this study's overall mortality of 2.6% (0.5 deaths per 100 person-years) with previous reports indicates improvement of survival in US patients less than 20 years of age with sickle hemoglobinopathies. This improvement is most likely due to parental education and counseling about the illness and the early institution of antibiotics in suspected infections.

Survival and causes of death in thalassaemia major

Survival and causes of death were studied in 1087 Italian patients with thalassaemia major who were born on or after Jan 1, 1960. At the age of 15 years, the Kaplan-Meier estimate of survival after the first decade of life was 80.6% for subjects born in 1960-64, 84.2% for those born in 1965-69, and 96.9% for those born in 1970-74. At the age of 20 years, survival from the age of 10 was 59.1% for patients born in 1960-64, and 70.2% for those born in 1965-69; at 25 years, survival from the age of 10 was 40.7% in the 1960-64 cohort. Overall survival from birth for patients born in 1970-74 was 97.4% at 10 years, and 94.4% at 15 years. The most common cause of death was heart disease, followed by infection, liver disease, and malignancy.

Malaria in beta-thalassemic mice and the effects of the transgenic human beta-globin gene and splenectomy

To investigate the protective effects of beta-thalassemia against malaria, rodent malaria parasites were studied in C57BL/6J mice with beta-thalassemia, in mice in which the thalassemia had been transgenically corrected with the human beta A-globin gene, and in hematologically normal mice. In thalassemic mice, Plasmodium chabaudi adami infection was inhibited and peak parasitemia was variably delayed. In transgenically corrected mice, infection proceeded as in normal mice. Plasmodium berghei infection proceeded more rapidly in thalassemic mice, but survival was not different. Splenectomized normal mice displayed high-level parasitemia that peaked twice and persisted as a low-level parasitemia for more than 20 days after normal intact mice were free of all parasites. Splenectomized thalassemic mice showed a delay of 5 days in attaining peak parasitemia, but the parasitemia persisted as in normal splenectomized mice. Thus, for P. chabaudi, which displayed no preference for immature erythrocytes, beta-thalassemia offers enhanced resistance for the host. However, for P. berghei, which preferentially invades reticulocytes, thalassemia is not protective. The protective effects of the normal mouse spleen were observed, but the paradoxical facilitation of parasite growth by the thalassemic spleen is a new finding that will require further experimentation to explain. This new in vivo laboratory documentation of thalassemic protection against some rodent malaria parasites may serve as a useful model in further efforts to control this major infectious disease.

Marrow transplantation in patients with advanced thalassemia

In a study of the outcome of marrow transplantation in patients with advanced thalassemia, 40 patients with homozygous beta-thalassemia who were 8 to 15 years of age (median, 10) received HLA-identical allogeneic marrow after treatment with busulfan and cyclophosphamide. Twenty-eight of the 40 patients were alive and free of disease 260 to 939 days after transplantation, and 2 patients were alive with thalassemia 372 and 1133 days after transplantation. The actuarial probabilities of survival and of disease-free survival at two years were 75 percent and 69 percent, respectively. Ten patients (25 percent) died. Three died of cardiac failure, interstitial pneumonitis, or septicemia within 14 days of transplantation. Three died of infectious complications associated with acute graft-versus-host disease at 46 to 97 days, and two died of infectious complications of chronic graft-versus-host disease at 249 and 290 days. Two patients had transplant rejection and died with marrow aplasia 115 and 192 days after transplantation. One patient had rejection after four months and while the marrow was aplastic underwent a successful second transplantation; the patient was alive without thalassemia 624 days after the first transplantation. The actuarial probability of grade 2 or higher acute graft-versus-host disease in the 32 patients with initial sustained engraftment was 35 percent. Three patients had chronic graft-versus-host disease, which was fatal in two and still active on day 710 in the third. We conclude that bone marrow transplantation can potentially save patients with advanced thalassemia from an otherwise inexorable progression to death from the complications of blood transfusions. The ultimate outcome in this group of patients must await a longer follow-up.

Marrow transplantation for thalassemia

Ten patients with homozygous beta thalassemia, aged from 1 year 7 months to 13 years, underwent bone marrow transplantation from siblings or parents. The first case received 12 mg/kg busulfan, 120 mg/kg cyclophosphamide, and 300 cGy total body irradiation before transplantation; he survives, with a graft, more than 680 days after transplantation. The other nine patients received 16 mg/kg busulfan and 200 mg/kg cyclophosphamide. Two died of transplantation-related complications on days 30 and 55. Seven survive 170 to 580 days after transplantation. Three of the seven surviving patients have durable engraftment (greater than 230 to greater than 550 days) while four patients have autologous hematopoietic recovery. Four of five patients who had less than 50 prior transfusions achieved engraftment. Only one of five patients who had more than 50 prior transfusions achieved engraftment (P less than 0.05). The six-month actuarial survival was 80%; six-month actuarial disease-free survival was 40%. These data demonstrate that bone marrow transplantation may cure thalassemia, but engraftment may be jeopardized among patients who have been heavily transfused or have received marrow from a donor who is not HLA-identical.

Is pain crisis a cause of death in sickle cell disease?

It has been a matter of controversy as to whether patients with sickle cell disease die of crisis or merely in crisis. The authors reviewed the 74 patients with sickle cell disease autopsied at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. From clinical review, there were 20 (27%) who died with pain crisis, 51 (69%) who died without pain crisis, and 3 (4%) for whom documentation was insufficient. On pathology review, death was attributable to infection in 19 (26%), uremia in 9 (12%), sequestration crisis in 9 (12%), necrotic bone marrow emboli in 7 (9%), and miscellaneous causes in 14 (19%); in 16 (22%) patients no cause of death could be identified. Death was explained in 47/51 (92%) patients without pain crisis; but only in 11/20 (55%, P less than 0.01) patients dying in pain crisis. The disproportionately large number of patients dying in pain crisis with an unexplained cause of death suggests that pain crisis may account for the death of some patients with sickle cell disease.

[Critical evaluation of the causes of death in thalassemic subjects]

We discuss 25 cases of death observed from 1971 to 1983 in a casistic of 155 patients with Thalassaemic Syndrome. Anemia as a cause of death is disappearing, new triggers are involved such as Yersinia Enterocolitica who can cause severe sepsis even in non-splenectomized patients. Iron overload appears to be the most severe complication in the second decade.