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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Prognostic factors identified for MDS patients most likely to benefit from induction chemotherapy after HMA failure
September 2018Researchers identified several prognostic factors for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who would most benefit from induction chemotherapies as a bridge to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) after hypomethylating agent (HMA) failure. (Ball B, et al. Blood Advances)
Learn which prognostic factors led to higher response rates and overall survival
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Disease Risk Index is Important Prognostic Factor for Older HCT Patients
September 2017He F, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – A study of 196 patients age 60-75 years with hematologic malignancies undergoing reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has found that the Disease Risk Index (DRI) score is a significant prognostic factor for post-transplant relapse, treatment failure and mortality. -
Immunoglobulin Significantly Reduces Chronic GVHD Rates
July 2017Finke J, et al. Lancet Haematol – Anti-human-T-lymphocyte immunoglobulin (ATLG) significantly lowers chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) rates and reduces risks associated with long-term immune suppression, according to a long-term randomized study of 201 patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). -
New Pre-HCT Counseling Recommendations to Preserve Fertility
May 2017Dalle J-H, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant – In this report, a panel of transplant experts discuss state-of-the-art fertility preservation options available to adolescents and young adults who are considering hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). -
Improved HCT Outcomes for Fit Patients with MDS/AML After Standard Conditioning
March 2017Scott BL, et al. J Clin Oncol – This randomized phase III trial of 272 adults with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) found that patients with hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) comorbidity index scores ≤4 and with <5% marrow myeloblasts had better relapse-free survival (RFS) after HCT with myeloablative conditioning (MAC), than after reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC). -
Results Show Non-Myeloablative Haploidentical Transplants Can Be Effective in Pediatric and Young Adult Patients
January 2017Klein OR, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – For pediatric and young adult patients who are ineligible for myeloablative transplant, non-myeloablative haploidentical bone marrow transplantation using post-transplant cyclophosphamide can be a safe and effective treatment, according to a single-center study of 40 transplant recipients. -
One-Year OS of 86% Achieved with Unrelated Donor HCT for Children with SCD
October 2016Shenoy S, et al Blood – This multi-center phase II trial conducted by the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) analyzed outcomes of 29 children (age range 6-19 years) with sickle cell disease (SCD) who underwent reduced-intensity conditioning unrelated donor hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) between 2008 and 2014. -
HCT Outcomes in Older Patients with SAA Comparable to Younger Patients
July 2016Shin SH, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant – A study of 117 adults with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) undergoing lower-intensity HCT using HLA-matched sibling donors found that transplant outcomes were comparable between older patients (>40 years) and younger patients (≤40 years). -
HCT Yields Over 80% 3-Year Survival and Low Relapse in High-Risk FL Patients
May 2016Laport GG, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) using reduced-intensity conditioning with rituximab yields excellent survival in high-risk patients with follicular lymphoma (FL), according to results of a prospective phase II study by the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN). -
Haploidentical, Unrelated Donor HCT Outcomes Comparable in Lymphoma
March 2016Kanate AS, et al. Blood – Reduced-intensity HCT using haploidentical or matched unrelated donors (URD) yields comparable outcomes, according to a study of 917 adults transplanted for lymphoma. -
Improved Quality of Life, No GVHD after HCT in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease
March 2016Saraf SL, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – HCT using an innovative conditioning regimen can result in a cure with marked improvements in quality of life for patients with high-risk sickle cell disease, according to a study of 13 adults transplanted using matched related donors. -
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. -
Higher Relapse-Free Survival with Myeloablative HCT in Patients with AML and MDS
December 2015Scott BL, et al. ASH abstract oral presentation, December 2015 – A phase III randomized trial presented at the ASH Annual Meeting has shown that although reduced-intensity regimens have lower treatment-related mortality (TRM), they also incur higher relapse rates. -
Comparable Outcomes in Unrelated Donor vs. Haploidentical HCT with Cyclophosphamide
December 2015Mussetti A, et al. ASH abstract oral presentation, December 2015 – Lower-intensity hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) using haploidentical donors and post-transplant cyclophosphamide for GVHD prophylaxis can achieve outcomes comparable to HLA-matched unrelated donor transplants, according to results of a retrospective study of 917 adults with Hodgkin or Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. -
Survival 80% or Higher with Allogeneic HCT after Failed Autologous HCT for Lymphoma
December 2015Rezvani AR, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant – In a study of 47 patients with lymphoma who had failed prior autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), 3-year overall survival was 81% after allogeneic HCT with a conditioning regimen using total lymphoid irradiation and antithymocyte globulin (TLI-ATG). -
Survival 65% or Higher in HCT for Progressive or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma
December 2015Yano S, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant – A multi-center retrospective study of reduced-intensity hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in 46 adults with follicular lymphoma has shown that this therapy can result in a 5-year overall survival (OS) of 71.6%. -
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. -
95% One-Year HCT Survival for Adults with Sickle Cell Disease
December 2015Krishnamurti L, et al. ASH abstract oral presentation, December 2015 – One-year overall and event-free survival probabilities were both 95% after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in adults with sickle cell disease (SCD), according to results of a multi-center study reported at the ASH Annual Meeting. -
Allogeneic HCT Better than Autologous HCT for Progression-Free Survival in Follicular Lymphoma
September 2015Klyuchnikov E, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant – In adults with follicular lymphoma (FL), reduced-intensity allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) yields better long-term survival compared to autologous HCT, according to results of a study of 518 rituximab-treated patients with FL transplanted between 2000 and 2012. -
Level of HLA Match Affects Outcomes in Reduced-Intensity HCT
June 2015Verneris MR, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant — This retrospective, large-scale study examined the effect of HLA match on reduced-intensity, unrelated donor transplantation. -
Comparable Survival in Cord Blood, Mismatched Unrelated HCT for AML
May 2015Malard F, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant — A long-term study of 651 adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving reduced-intensity (RIC) or nonmyeloablative conditioning (NMA) transplantation has found comparable four-year survival with umbilical cord blood and mismatched unrelated donors: 47.9% vs. 50.5%, respectively (p=0.81). -
Long-Term Outcomes after HCT for Mantle Cell Lymphoma
April 2015Vaughn J, et al. Oral presentation, BMT Tandem Meetings — A study of 70 patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) undergoing non-myeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) demonstrated that a majority can achieve 5-year survival and can discontinue immunosuppressive medications. -
Excellent HCT Outcomes in Fanconi Anemia without Radiation
April 2015Bonfim C, et al. Oral presentation, BMT Tandem Meetings — Five-year 5-year overall survival was 87% in a single-center study of 103 consecutive patients with Fanconi anemia who underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation between 2003 and 2014 using chemotherapy-only conditioning. -
Review: Reduced-Intensity HCT in Adults with AML
March 2015Reshef R, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant — In this review, the authors discuss the current status of reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in treating acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). -
No Impact of Patient Age on Survival in Reduced-Intensity HCT
March 2015Federmann B, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant — Patient age has no significant impact on survival, according to results of a retrospective study of 151 patients aged ≥60 undergoing reduced-intensity allogeneic HCT with related and unrelated donors between 2000 and 2012. -
Marrow, Peripheral Blood Yield Comparable 5-year Survival in Reduced-Intensity HCT
January 2015Eapen M, et al. J Clin Oncol — This study examining the outcomes of peripheral blood stem cell (PB) and bone marrow (BM) transplants using reduced-intensity conditioning found no significant differences in outcomes based on graft source. -
Treosulfan-Based Conditioning and HCT for Nonmalignant Diseases
December 2014Burroughs LM, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant — Patients with nonmalignant diseases undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation using treosulfan-based conditioning can achieve a 2-year survival of 90%, according to a prospective multi-center trial of 31 transplants. -
Long-Term Impact of TBI on Cognitive Functioning in Pediatric HCT
November 2014Willard VW, et al. J Clin Oncol — Using total-body irradiation (TBI) in pre-transplant conditioning regimens lowers cognitive ability, according to a study of 315 pediatric hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients. -
BMT CTN Study to Compare HCT to Hypomethylating Agents to Treat MDS
October 2014Saber W, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant — This report outlines the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) trial to compare outcomes of reduced-intensity hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in high-risk patients, 50-75 years of age, with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with outcomes in patients with similar risk receiving novel nontransplant therapies such as hypomethylating agents. -
Review Series in Blood Journal: Advances in HCT
August 2014Negrin RS, et al. Blood — Scientific and clinical translational research highlighting treatment advances in the field of HCT are available in five review articles in Blood. -
Review: Factors Affecting Selection of a Pre-HCT Conditioning Regimen
June 2014Gyurkocza B, et al. Blood — In this review, the authors outline how a patient’s diagnosis, disease status, donor availability, graft source, and patient-related factors such as the presence or absence of comorbid conditions all influence the choice of a pre-transplant conditioning regimen. -
Encouraging Progression-Free Survival in HCT for Older NHL Patients
April 2014McClune BL, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant - This CIBMTR study analyzed outcomes of 1,248 patients age ≥40 years undergoing reduced-intensity or non-myeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for aggressive (n=668) or indolent (n=580) non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). -
Pre-Transplant ATG Protects against GVHD in MDS
April 2014Duléry R, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant - In this study of 242 consecutive patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for progressive myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), outcomes were compared between patients receiving rabbit antithymocyte globulin (ATG; n=93) and those who did not (n=149). -
Reduced-Intensity HCT for Chronic Granulomatous Disease
February 2014Güngör T, et al. Lancet -- Reduced-intensity allogeneic HCT for chronic granulomatous disease can lead to two-year survival rates exceeding 95%, according to the results of a prospective multi-center trial. -
Early Transplant Best in Chemotherapy-Sensitive MCL
January 2014Fenske TS, et al. J Clin Oncol - For patients with chemotherapy-sensitive mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), the optimal timing for either reduced-intensity HCT (RIC-HCT) or autologous HCT (auto-HCT) is early in the disease course, according to a recent study. -
Peri-Transplant Rituximab in Lymphoma Can Lead to Durable Event-Free Survival
December 2013Sauter CS, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant - Non-myeloablative transplantation incorporating peri-transplant-rituximab can lead to a two-year event-free survival (EFS) of 72%, according to results of a prospective trial of 51 patients with CD20+ B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. -
Review: Strategies to Improve Outcomes of Unrelated Donor PBSC Transplants
December 2013Sohn SK, et al. Transfusion - The authors of this review note that because of the higher incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplant compared to marrow transplant, strategies need to be different for the two stem cell grafts. -
Prior Therapy Does Not Affect Transplant Outcomes in High-Risk MDS
December 2013Oran B, et al. ASH abstract oral presentation – Therapies prior to hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) have no effect on outcomes in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), according to a single-center study of 291 patients. -
IV Busulfan Better Than TBI in HCT for AML in CR1
October 2013Copelan EA, et al. Blood - Hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission (CR1) conditioned with intravenous busulfan (IV-Bu) have better outcomes than those receiving total body irradiation (TBI). -
IV Busulfan Better Than TBI in Pre-Transplant Conditioning
October 2013Bredeson C, et al. Blood - Hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) patients conditioned with intravenous busulfan (IV-BU) have better outcomes than those receiving total body irradiation (TBI), according to results of a prospective cohort study of 1,483 patients transplanted for myeloid malignancies. -
Lower Chronic GVHD in Double Cord Blood HCT
August 2013Malard F, et al. Leukemia - Double cord blood and 9/10 matched unrelated donor reduced-intensity transplants have similar outcomes, but using cord blood results in a significantly lower incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), according to a study of 152 patients (median age 53 years) transplanted for hematological malignancies. -
Outcomes for HCT in Patients Over Age 70
July 2013Brunner AM, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant - Select older patients can undergo HCT, according to results of a study of 54 consecutive patients >70 years undergoing reduced-intensity transplantation between 2007 and 2012 at Massachusetts General Hospital (n=14) or the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (n=40). -
Similar Survival Using Sibling, Unrelated Donor, and Cord Blood Grafts in AML
July 2013de Latour RP, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant - Reduced-intensity conditioning HCT in patients 50 years and older with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in complete remission has similar outcomes using sibling donors, unrelated donors, and cord blood units.
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Review: Allogeneic HCT for Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma
June 2013Klyuchnikov E, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant - In this review article, the authors note that despite overall improvements in outcomes of patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), approximately 30-40% will develop relapsed or refractory disease.
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Comparable Outcomes in AML/MDS Using Related, Unrelated Donors
May 2013Robin M, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant - Matched unrelated or matched sibling donors can lead to comparable transplant survival, according to a single-center research study of 108 patients with AML (n=63) and MDS (n=45). -
Review: Minimal Residual Disease in Acute Leukemia
May 2013Buckley SA, et al. Bone Marrow Transplant, Campana D, et al. Br J Haematol - In these two review articles on minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with acute leukemia, the authors discuss the recent research showing that the likelihood of relapse after transplant is directly associated with levels of MRD before transplant.
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No Clinical Benefit in Adding Radioimmunotherapy to BEAM Conditioning in Autologous HCT for Relapsed DLBCL
March 2013Vose JM, et al. J Clin Oncol — In patients with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) undergoing autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), adding radioimmunotherapy to the standard BEAM conditioning regimen provides no clinical benefit, according to results from a randomized phase III clinical trial conducted by the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN). -
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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HCT for Chemorefractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma
February 2013Hamadani M, et al. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant - This study examined 202 adults with chemotherapy-unresponsive mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who underwent allogeneic HCT between 1998 and 2010 and whose outcomes were reported to CIBMTR (Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research). -
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.