A conditioning platform based on fludarabine, busulfan and two days of rabbit antithymocyte globulin results in promising results in patients undergoing allogeneic transplantation from both matched and mismatched unrelated donor.
Résumé
: Conditioning regimen including fludarabine (FLU), intravenous busulfan (Bx), and 5 mg/kg total dose of rabbit antithymocyte globulin (r-ATG) (FBx-ATG), results in low incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and non-relapse mortality (NRM) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Allo-HSCT) from HLA-matched related or unrelated donors (MUD). However, whether this platform produces similar results in the setting of one mismatch unrelated donor (MMUD) Allo-HSCT is not known. We retrospectively analyzed patients aged less than 65 years who were diagnosed with hematological malignancies and received FBx-ATG regimen prior to Allo-HSCT from MUD (N=74) or MMUD (N=40). We compared outcome of MUD vs. MMUD patients. There was no difference in the cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute GVHD (MUD: 34% vs. MMUD: 35%, p=0.918), but MMUD patients developed more grade III-IV acute GVHD (MUD: 5% vs. MMUD: 15%, p=0.016). The cumulative incidences of overall chronic GVHD (MUD: 33% vs. MMUD: 22%, p=0.088) and extensive chronic GVHD (MUD: 20% vs. MMUD: 19%, p=0.594) were comparable. One-year NRM was similar in both groups (MUD: 16% vs. MMUD: 14%, p=0.292); similarly, progression-free survival (MUD: 59% vs. MMUD: 55%, p=0.476) and overall survival (MUD: 63% vs. MMUD: 61%, p=0.762) were not different between both groups. With a median follow up of 24 months, 35 of 74 MUD patients (47%) and 19 of 40 MMUD patients (48%) were free of both disease progression and immunosuppressive treatment. We conclude that the FBx-ATG regimen results in low incidences of NRM and GVHD in both MUD and the MMUD recipients.