Second allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with hematological malignancies

Abstract

Background. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a standard treatment for many patients with hematological malignancies. Complications of allo-HSCT are frequently associated either with a relapse of the underlying disease or a graft failure. Second transplantation can be offered to selected patients and is seen as the only curative option. In this paper, we report the experience of managing 24 such patients, all of whom underwent a second allo-HSCT. Patients and methods. The research involved 24 patients (12 males/12 females) suffering from acute myeloid leukemia (AML, n = 14), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n = 4), myeloproliferative disease (MPD, n = 3) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS, n = 3). The patients' age ranged from 18 to 56 years, with the median age being 32 years. All the patients underwent a second allo-HSCT due to the disease relapse (n = 11) or graft failure (n = 13). 12 patients underwent a second allo-HSCT within the period of less than 6 months after the first allo-HSCT. Results. Following the second allo-HSCT, engraftment occurred in 18/24 (75 %) patients, while 3 patients demonstrated graft failure and 3 - disease progression. Out of 18 patients having engrafted, 9 (50%) died during the first 100 days after allo-HSCT as a result of severe infections or visceral toxicity. 3 more lethal outcomes were recorded in later periods due to the disease progression. The overall mortality rate after the second allo-HSCT equalled 61.5 %. The median overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 13.5 months and 10.59 months, respectively. Three-year OS and DFS were 38.5 % and 27.6 % respectively. Significant differences in terms of OS were detected for patients with a longer interval (>6 months) between the first and second allo-HSCT. The change of a donor was not associated with a better clinical outcome.