Recent Research
Stay up-to-date on the advancing field of HCT with short summaries and links to the most relevant published research.
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Race and ethnicity matching may not impact umbilical cord blood transplant patient outcomes
December 2022Ballen K, et al. – According to research presented at the 64th American Hematology Association (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, race and ethnicity matching may have minimal to no impact on umbilical cord hematopoietic cell transplant (UCB HCT) outcomes. Researchers compared outcomes of non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Asian recipients of UCB HCT finding improved overall survival over time across all racial and ethnic groups. -
Linkage across research databases may provide a more complete understanding of HCT patient outcomes
December 2022Valcarcel B, et al. – Researchers examined the concordance of patient vital status and cause-specific mortality after first hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) between the CIBMTR database and the California Cancer Registry. Presented at the 64th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition, results showed the consistency of vital status between the data sets was high; however, differences between reported data may be due to the length of follow-up and incomplete patient information.
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Socioeconomic status but not race and ethnicity is likely associated with chronic GVHD outcomes after allogeneic HCT
December 2022Nosha F, et al. – Researchers found that low socioeconomic status, but not race and ethnicity, was associated with worse outcomes in patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation according to research presented at the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition. -
Long-term risks of hematological malignancy, autoimmune or thrombotic events do not differ in bone marrow and filgrastim-mobilized PBSC donors
December 2022Stefanski HE, et al. – Research presented at the 64th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition suggests peripheral blood stem cell donors receiving filgrastim are not at an increased risk of malignancy, autoimmune or thrombotic events compared to bone marrow donors who didn’t receive filgrastim. -
Novel three-drug combination improves GVHD-free and relapse-free survival and relapse after allogeneic transplant
December 2022Holtan SG, et al. – Research presented at the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition showed patients with blood cancers who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant and received a novel combination of post-transplant cyclophosphamide, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil (PTCy/Tac/MMF) compared to standard graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prevention demonstrated significantly improved GVHD-free and relapse-free survival. -
Hematopoietic cell donor type may not impact quality of life post-transplant
December 2022Najla El, J et al. – Research suggests no significant difference in patient-reported quality of life outcomes between patients receiving a related haploidentical donor or unrelated double umbilical cord blood donor hematopoietic cell transplant with reduced-intensity conditioning, according to data presented at the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition. -
Mismatched donor sources may fill an unmet need for patients without fully matched family or unrelated donors
December 2022Fingerson S, et al. – Research showed most patients who received haploidentical related donor hematopoietic cell transplantation were unlikely to have a fully matched (8/8) unrelated donor match but likely to have a single-mismatched (7/8) donor on the national registry. This data was presented at the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition. -
Including HLA mismatched unrelated donors and alternative graft sources, Be The Match Registry modeling shows a donor is available for virtually all those in need of HCT
March 2022Chowdhury AS, et al. – Research presented at the 2022 Tandem Meetings of the ASTCT and CIBMTR shows that expanding donor registry models to include mismatched unrelated donors (MMUDs) down to a 5/8 HLA match expands access to nearly 100% of patients in need of HCT. Based on alternative graft sources and advances in graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis following allogeneic HCT, MMUD has the potential to expand HCT access, particularly among racially and ethnically diverse patients. -
Assessment of the racial and ethnic diversity on Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) trials shows a need to do better
March 2022Horowitz MM, et al. – Research presented at the 2022 Tandem Meetings of the ASTCT and CIBMTR shows that racially and ethnically diverse patients considering hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) are underrepresented in clinical trials conducted by the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN). Data suggest major barriers not only for enrollment in clinical trials, but for ensuring underrepresented groups are included in the overall pipeline for HCT consideration. -
Creation and evaluation of a Search Summary Score tool for rapid unrelated HCT donor search assessment shows value, particularly for those without a fully matched donor
March 2022Fingerson S, et al. – Presented at the 2022 Tandem Meetings of the ASTCT and CIBMTR, researchers evaluated a new Search Summary Score tool to provide rapid assessment of donor search productivity, showcasing its ability to streamline the search process for HCT. This tool allows clinical teams to focus their search strategies on the most likely available donor sources, particularly for racially and ethnically diverse patients and others less likely to have an HLA fully matched donor. -
NMDP/Be The Match report shows that neither COVID-19 nor cryopreservation prevented allogeneic product infusion
March 2022Stefanski H, et al. – A report presented at the 2022 Tandem Meetings of the ASTCT and CIBMTR from the NMDP/Be The Match shows that despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, HCT products can be reliably sourced and preserved without negative impacts to donors or patients. Cryopreserved products and products from COVID-19 positive donors appear to pose no overt risk. -
Early data show COVID-19 vaccination is less effective in those who have undergone cellular transplants in the past year, with more data needed
March 2022Riches ML, et al. – Early data in an ongoing study presented at the 2022 Tandem Meetings of the ASTCT and CIBMTR show COVID-19 vaccination is less effective in those who have undergone cellular transplants and therapies in the last year, with more data needed to determine the ideal timing and number of boosters needed for this population. Vaccination continues to be important following transplant due to higher risk of COVID-19 complications in these vulnerable patients. -
HCT provides a significant survival benefit for patients with MDS aged 50 to 75, with no negative impacts on quality of life
December 2021Nakamura R, et al. and Martens M, et al. – Outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) among older patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are similar to younger patients and result in no worse quality of life (QOL). Researchers shared these findings at the 62nd and 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. -
Precision medicine initiative uses whole genome sequencing to identify novel prognostic signatures and the impact of genomic subgroups in MDS allogeneic HCT patients
December 2021Zhang T, et al. – Two research studies presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition called attention to the National Marrow Donor Program®/Be The Match® precision medicine initiative by presenting novel prognostic signatures in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) based on whole genome sequencing and examining the impact of genomic subgroups on survival. -
Cryopreservation of allogeneic HCT grafts does not adversely impact early post-HCT outcomes
December 2021Devine S, et al. – Planned cryopreservation of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) grafts during the COVID-19 pandemic did not adversely impact early post-HCT outcomes according to research presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. -
Abatacept is a promising tool to expand access to HCT, significantly improves survival in 7-8 MMUD HCT
December 2021Kean LS, et al. – Patients treated with abatacept in combination with the current standard of care for acute graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis after mismatched unrelated donor (7/8 MMUD) allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) had significantly better survival outcomes according to research presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. -
MUD outcomes are superior to haploidentical HCT for lymphoma in an apples-to-apples comparison
December 2021Mussetti A, et al. – More apples-to-apples research evidence that matched unrelated donor (MUD) hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) results in superior patient outcomes than haploidentical related donor HCT when available was presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. -
Access to and outcomes of HCT for adult underserved populations have improved over time, but African American and other pediatric patients still experience a significant disparity
December 2021Khera N, et al. – Research presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition shows that rates of autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT) have increased more rapidly among African American, Hispanic, and other underserved populations than among non-Hispanic whites from 2009 to 2018. However, a challenge still exists to close the gaps in overall survival for African American and other pediatric patients. -
BMT CTN 1102 study results support early HCT referral for older patients with MDS
December 2021Ryotaro Nakamura, MD, et al. – In this practice-changing multi-center biologic assignment trial conducted by the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN), researchers provide strong evidence that outcomes of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) among older patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are similar to younger patients and result in no worse quality of life (QOL). BMT CTN 1102 is currently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, with a corresponding practice change commentary in Cancer.
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Cyclophosphamide is Effective GVHD Prophylaxis in Matched Related and Unrelated HCT
November 2021Ruggeri A, et al. ASH abstract oral presentation, December 2017 – In patients with acute leukemia, post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy) can effectively control GVHD after matched related and unrelated donor HCT, and is even more effective when combined with 1 or 2 immunosuppressive drugs. -
Low-grade aGVHD positively affects OS for patients with early disease stage ALL
April 2019Yeshurun M, et al., Blood Advances – Development of low-grade acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) lowers relapse risk and positively affects overall survival (OS) for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in complete remission one and two). That’s the conclusion of researchers who aimed to better understand the graft-versus-leukemia effect in patients with ALL, and how disease stage and severity of GVHD impacts hematopoietic cell transplant outcomes.
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How I treat Philadelphia chromosome positive ALL
January 2019The introduction of effective novel agents is swiftly changing management of patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL). In this edition of the “How I treat…” series in the Blood Journal , the author uses case studies to address questions about Ph+ ALL treatment deci
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Second HCT Effective for Subset of Relapsing Children with Acute Leukemia
April 2018Yaniv I, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – This multi-center study of 373 children who relapsed after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) revealed several prognostic factors predicting overall survival and leukemia-free survival in a subset of these patients. -
Personalized HCT Prognostic Risk Scores Identified for Children with Acute Leukemias
January 2018Bitan M, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – Researchers analyzed outcomes of children with acute myeloid (AML, n=790) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL, n=1,096) who survived for at least 1 year in remission after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) have developed personalized long-term prognostic scoring systems for these patients. -
Lower Relapse and Improved Survival with Mild Acute GVHD after HCT for ALL
December 2017Yeshurun M, et al. ASH abstract oral presentation, December 2017 – A large-scale multicenter study of pediatric and adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has confirmed that HCT imparts a potent graft-versus-leukemia effect in ALL with improved survival and lower relapse in patients who experience grade I-II acute GVHD. -
MRD is a ‘Powerful Predictor for Survival’ in Childhood ALL
April 2017Bader P, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – Measuring pre- and post-transplant minimal residual disease (MRD) “is a powerful predictor for survival” in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a multi-center study of 648 patients. -
Adults with ALL Experience No Benefit of Consolidation Chemotherapy Prior to HCT
December 2016Bejanyan N, et al. ASH abstract oral presentation, December 2016 – Consolidation chemotherapy does not benefit adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have a readily available donor and who undergo myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in first complete remission (CR1), according to research presented at ASH. -
Is Cord Blood the Best Alternative Graft Source for Patients with Minimal Residual Disease?
October 2016Milano F, et al. N Engl J Med – A retrospective study of 582 patients with acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes has shown that umbilical cord blood may be a superior graft choice for the approximately 70% of patients who lack an HLA-matched related donor, especially if they are minimal residual disease positive (MRD+). -
MRD-Negativity in Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell ALL Leads to Better HCT Outcomes
October 2016Jabbour E, et al. Cancer – A study of 78 patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) found that minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment is predictive of survival after salvage treatment and subsequent HCT. -
TKIs Can Effectively Treat Post-Transplant Relapse Risk in Patients with Ph+ ALL
September 2016Lussana F, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – Researchers analyzing prospective data from two consecutive clinical trials have demonstrated that patients with Philadelphia-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with measurable pre-transplant levels of minimal residual disease (MRD) have a significantly higher risk of relapse. -
Use of TKIs to Prevent Relapse after HCT for Patients with Ph+ ALL
July 2016Giebel S, et al. Cancer – This consensus report from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) gives an overview of clinical studies on the use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) to prevent relapse after allogeneic HCT for Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). -
Comparable Survival, More GVHD Risk Using EBV-Seropositive HCT Donors
July 2016Styczynski J, et al. J Clin Oncol – A large-scale retrospective study of the effect of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) serostatus on outcomes of allogeneic HCT in 11,364 patients with acute leukemia found that patients receiving grafts from EBV-seropositive donors had the same overall survival as patients who received grafts from EBV-seronegative donors. -
Disease Status, Not Cytogenetics, Predict HCT Outcome in Adult ALL
April 2016Aldoss I, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – This retrospective single-center study of 333 adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has found that cytogenetic risk is not an independent predictor of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) outcome. -
ATG Significantly Lowers Rate of Chronic GVHD
January 2016Kröger N, et al. N Engl J Med – Adding anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) to a myeloablative conditioning regimen can cut the 2-year rate of chronic GVHD in half, according to results of a multi-center, prospective randomized trial of 168 patients transplanted for acute leukemias. -
Better HCT Outcomes in Younger Adults with T-Cell ALL
December 2015Cahu X, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant – This long-term, retrospective study of 601 adults with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has demonstrated that hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has better outcomes when total body irradiation (TBI) is used for pre-transplant conditioning compared to chemotherapy-only conditioning, but only in adults age <35 years. -
Review: Treating T-Cell ALL in Adults
September 2015Litzow MR, et al. Blood – In this installment of the “How I treat ...” series in Blood, the authors review treatment strategies for T-cell immunophenotype acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). -
Review: ALL in Older Adolescents and Young Adults
July 2015Curran E, et al. Blood — In this installment of the “How I treat ...” series in Blood, the authors use four case studies to describe their approach to treating adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). -
Review: Treatment Options for Adults with Relapsed or Refractory Ph- ALL
June 2015Frey NV, et al. Blood — In this installment of the “How I treat ...” series in Blood, the authors outline their clinical algorithm to treat adult patients with relapsed Philadelphia chromosome negative acute lymphoblastic lymphoma (ALL). -
Related, Unrelated HCT Outcomes Comparable in Pediatric ALL
March 2015Peters C, et al. J Clin Oncol — A large-scale, multi-center study of 411 transplants for children with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has shown comparable transplant outcomes with sibling and unrelated donors. -
Post-HCT Cyclophosphamide is Effective as Sole GVHD Prophylaxis
December 2014Kanakry CG, et al. Blood — High-dose, post-transplant cyclophosphamide can successfully reduce severe graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after T-cell-replete allogeneic transplantation for AML, ALL, and MDS, using related and unrelated donors. -
Review: HCT and Novel Approaches in Pediatric ALL
July 2014Pulsipher MA, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant — In this review, the authors define the current best and promising future HCT practices for high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children and adolescents and discuss the optimal timing for HCT in these patients. -
HCT Outcomes Improving over Time in Teens and Young Adults with ALL
April 2014Wood WA, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant - Survival in adolescents and young adults (AYAs, ages 15-40 years) undergoing myeloablative HCT for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has improved over time, according to study data from 2,668 transplant recipients reported to the CIBMTR. -
Pre-Transplant Imatinib Benefits Adults with Ph+ ALL
March 2014Mizuta S, et al. Blood — A retrospective analysis of 738 adults with Ph+ALL who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) found that pre-transplant imatinib had beneficial effects on overall survival, relapse, and non-relapse mortality compared to a non-imatinib cohort of HCT recipients. -
Post-HCT Minimal Residual Disease Can Identify Impending Relapse in Pediatric ALL
March 2014Bader P, et al. BMT Tandem Meetings abstract oral presentation, February 2014 - Assessing post-transplant minimal residual disease can identify impending relapse in pediatric ALL patients who may therefore benefit from pre-emptive therapies, according to a prospective study of 115 patients. -
Improved HCT Survival over Time for Adolescents and Young Adults
December 2013Wood WA, et al. ASH abstract oral presentation, December 2013 – Survival after HCT has improved significantly over time for adolescents and young adults (age 15-40 years), according to a large-scale, multi-center study of 1,244 myeloablative allogeneic transplants for ALL at U.S. centers over three time periods: 1990-1995, 1996-2001, and 2002-2007. -
Review: Comparing HCT Donor Options in Ph- ALL
November 2013Nishiwaki S, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant - This review discusses selecting among unrelated, cord blood, and haploidentical grafts for patients with Ph-negative ALL in CR1 when an HLA-matched related donor is unavailable . -
Personalized Prognostic Information for Adult Leukemia Survivors after HCT
November 2013Lee SJ, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant - By analyzing outcomes data of 3,339 adults with AML and 1,434 adults with ALL submitted to the CIBMTR, researchers have developed formulas to estimate future leukemia-free survival (LFS) of transplant recipients surviving one year or more post-transplant. -
Comparable Survival in Cord Blood and Adult Donor HCT for ALL
October 2013Marks DI, et al. Haematologica - A study of 802 adults transplanted for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in first or second complete remission has found comparable outcomes using three different unrelated donor graft sources. -
How I Treat Older Patients with ALL
June 2013Gökbuget N. Blood - In this installment of the “How I Treat” series in the journal Blood, Dr. Nicola Gökbuget outlines how improved supportive care, targeted therapies, moderately intensified consolidation, and reduced-intensity hematopoietic cell transplantation have improved outcomes somewhat for older patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). -
Significant Improvement in HCT Survival Over Time
June 2013Hahn T, et al. J Clin Oncol - Survival for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has significantly improved over time, according to a study of 38,060 patients with hematologic malignancies transplanted between 1994 and 2005 and reported to CIBMTR (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research).
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Graft-Versus-Tumor Effects in Advanced Malignancies
March 2013Storb R, et al. J Clin Oncol - A study of a minimal-intensity pre-transplant conditioning regimen consisting of low-dose total body irradiation with or without fludarabine has shown that it can induce strong graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effects leading to lasting remissions in 45% to 75% of patients.
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Myeloablative HCT Improves Survival in Younger Adults with ALL in First Remission
January 2013Gupta V, et al. Blood - A meta-analysis combining data from 13 studies including 2,962 adults has shown that allogeneic, but not autologous, hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) improves survival in younger adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in first complete remission.