Second hematopoietic SCT for lymphoma patients who relapse after autotransplantation: another autograft or switch to allograft?

Long-term outcome after autologous or allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients with recurrent follicular lymphoma

Thirty-five consecutive patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) receiving SCT at our institution between January 2000 and December 2010 were included in this study. At the time of presentation, 30 (86%) had advanced stage disease and 25 (71%) received three or more chemotherapy regimens prior to transplantation. In all, 12 (34%) patients were in complete response pre-SCT following salvage therapy. At the time of analysis (median follow-up 6 years from diagnosis and 4 years from transplantation), 24 patients were alive with an estimated 5-year OS and PFS of 66.5 and 53%, respectively. OS and PFS in patients receiving auto-SCT (91.7%, 73.3%) were superior compared with patients receiving allo-SCT (53.9%, 43%). Our data support early use of auto-SCT in patients with FL and suggest the need to improve allo-SCT outcome. Integrating novel agents in a combined modality approach may improve long-term outcome in FL.

Immunomodulatory nonablative conditioning regimen for B-cell lymphoid malignancies

Twenty-six patients with recurrent CD20(+) B-cell lymphoid malignancies received fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab-based nonablative conditioning followed by either matched related (n = 18) or unrelated (n = 8) donor allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) between March 2008 and May 2011. Median age of patients at transplantation was 59 years (range, 41-64 years). At diagnosis, 20 (77%) had stage IV disease; 23 (88%) received ≥3 regimens, 14 (54%) received ≥4 regimens, and 4 (15%) had earlier autologous-SCT. All patients had either chemosensitive or stable disease and nine (35%) were in complete remission before transplantation. At the time of analysis, 17 patients were alive with an estimated 2-year overall survival and progression-free survival rate of 63% and nonrelapse mortality of 25%. Grade II to IV acute graft-vs-host-disease occurred in 8 (31%) and chronic graft-vs-host-disease in 6 (23%) patients (extensive, n = 3). Causes of death include progressive disease in four, acute graft-vs-host-disease in two (both after receiving donor lymphocyte infusion for mixed chimerism with residual disease), infection in one, and other (e.g., substance abuse, leukoencephalopathy) in two. Six patients required rehospitalization within 100 days of SCT (mean = 10 days; range, 3-18 days). Our data support fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab-based nonablative conditioning allo-SCT in CD20(+) B-cell lymphoid malignancies and it is time to compare this regimen with an alternative reduced-intensity conditioning regimen in B-cell malignancies.

Outcome of lower-intensity allogeneic transplantation in non-Hodgkin lymphoma after autologous transplantation failure

We studied the outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation after lower-intensity conditioning regimens (reduced-intensity conditioning and nonmyeloablative) in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who relapsed after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Nonrelapse mortality, lymphoma progression/relapse, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival were analyzed in 263 patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. All 263 patients had relapsed after a previous autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and then had undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from a related (n = 26) or unrelated (n = 237) donor after reduced-intensity conditioning (n = 128) or nonmyeloablative (n = 135) and were reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research between 1996 and 2006. The median follow-up of survivors was 68 months (range, 3-111 months). Three-year nonrelapse mortality was 44% (95% confidence interval [CI], 37%-50%). Lymphoma progression/relapse at 3 years was 35% (95% CI, 29%-41%). Three-year probabilities of PFS and overall survival were 21% (95% CI, 16%-27%) and 32% (95% CI, 27%-38%), respectively. Superior Karnofsky Performance Score, longer interval between transplantations, total body irradiation-based conditioning regimen, and lymphoma remission at transplantation were correlated with improved PFS. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation after lower-intensity conditioning is associated with significant nonrelapse mortality but can result in long-term PFS. We describe a quantitative risk model based on pretransplantation risk factors to identify those patients likely to benefit from this approach.

Clinical options after failure of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with hematologic malignancies

Disease recurrence is the single most common cause of death after allogeneic or autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Disease status and chemosensitivity at the time of transplantation, as well as the development of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), are factors known to influence the risk of relapse post-HSCT. Both acute and chronic GVHD have been associated with decreased relapse rates; however, owing to toxicity, overall survival is not consistently improved in these patients. Furthermore, there is a transient period of immunodeficiency after HSCT, which may permit residual malignant cells to proliferate early in the post-transplant course, before the donor immune system can establish a graft-versus-tumor response. Patients who fail an initial HSCT have an extremely poor outcome; therefore, maneuvers to prevent, identify and treat recurrent disease as early as possible in these situations are necessary. Strategies to distinguish graft-versus-tumor from GVHD, to enhance both general and disease-specific immune reconstitution after transplantation, and to increase donor-mediated anti-host immune reactions are being investigated in clinical trials. Single agent nontoxic post-HSCT chemotherapy, cellular therapies and second allogeneic HSCT using reduced intensity regimens are among the modalities under investigation.

Relapse of lymphoma after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: management strategies and outcome

The outcome and management of relapsed lymphoma after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is difficult. Therapeutic options may include donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI), reduction of immunosuppression (RIS), chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, second HCT, and experimental treatments, but reported data contrasting the response and efficacy of these salvage treatments are limited. We describe the treatments, response, prognosis, and long-term survival of 72 patients with relapse of lymphoma after allogeneic HCT. Between 1991 and 2007, 227 lymphoma patients underwent allogeneic HCT. Of these, 72 (32%) developed relapse/progression after their HCT at a median of 99 days (0-1898 days); 37 had early (<100 days) post-HCT relapse. Forty-four had non-Hodgkin lymphoma (7 mantle cell, 5 indolent, 15 diffuse large B cell, 4 Burkitt's, and 13 T/Natural Killer cell), and 28 patients had Hodgkin lymphoma. At the time of HCT, 62 patients were in remission (22 in complete [CR] and 40 in partial [PR]), 1 had stable whereas 9 had progressive disease. Seventeen cases received myeloablative and 55 received a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen. At relapse, most patients had generalized lymphadenopathy, extranodal organ involvement, and advanced disease. Five patients received no intervention for the post-HCT relapse. Immunosuppressive treatment was reduced or withdrawn as the first-line therapy in 58 patients (80.5%); 47 were treated using combinations of conventional chemotherapy (n = 22), rituximab (n = 27), interferon (IFN) (n = 1), DLI (n = 7), second HCT (n = 2), local radiation (n = 23), and other therapy (n = 6). Thirty-eight patients had an objective response (CR in 30, PR in 8), and 2 had stable disease (SD). At the post-HCT relapse, favorable prognostic factors for survival after HCT included good ECOG performance status (0-2), normal lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), early stage disease (stage I-III), isolated extranodal organ involvement, and later relapse (>100 days) post-HCT. Three-year survival after HCT was significantly better in late than early relapse (53%; 95% confidence interval [CI] [34%-69%] versus 36%, [20%-52%], P = .02). Of 72 relapsed patients, 29 (40%) survived at a median of 34 (3-148) months posttransplant. The most common cause of death was underlying lymphoma (79%). The overall prognosis of relapsed/progressive lymphoma after allogeneic HCT is disappointing, yet half of patients respond to withdrawal of immunosuppression and additional therapies. Novel treatments can control lymphoma with acceptable morbidity. Particularly for patients with later relapse, ongoing treatment after relapse can yield meaningful benefit and prolonged survival.

Autograft mediated adoptive immunotherapy of cancer in the context of autologous stem cell transplantation

The infused stem cell autograft in autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has been viewed mainly as hematologic rescue from the myelosuppressive side effect of conditioning regimens. However, recent reports have shown that the immune effector cells collected at the same time as the stem cells can produce an autologous graft-versus-tumor effect, similar to the graft-versus-tumor effect seen in allogeneic stem cell transplantation without the detrimental effects of graft-versus-host disease. In this article, we review the different immune effector cells collected and infused from the stem cell autograft and their association with clinical outcome post-ASCT, suggesting that ASCT can be viewed not only as a therapeutic maneuver to recover bone marrow function after deliver high-dose chemotherapy, but also as an adoptive immunotherapeutic intervention capable of eradicating residual tumor cells in patients with cancer.