Consequences of two different doses to the lungs during a single dose of total body irradiation: results of a randomized study on 85 patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence of lung complications and leukemia recurrences after two different doses to the lungs during total body irradiation. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Seventy-nine patients with acute leukemia (AML or ALL) in first complete remission or chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase, five patients with high grade lymphoma, and one with chronic lymphocytic leukemia were entered in the study. They were given a single dose of total body irradiation (10 Gy over 4 h) with two different doses to the lungs (6 Gy or 8 Gy) prior to bone marrow transplantation. The median dose rate was 0.04 Gy/min. The median follow-up for both groups of patients was 24 months. RESULTS: The actuarial 5-year overall survival rate was similar in both groups, 59% and 43% for patients given 8 Gy and 6 Gy to the lungs, respectively. The lung complication rate was similar in the two groups (28% vs. 22% for the 8 Gy and 6 Gy group, respectively). The actuarial leukemia recurrence rate was significantly higher in the group of patients given 6 Gy to the lungs (25%) vs. 0% in the 8 Gy group. Interestingly, all recurrences occurred in the group of patients who were given 6 Gy to the lungs, who had acute leukemia, and no chronic graft vs. host disease (GVHD). CONCLUSIONS: Although the number of patients was not very large and the follow-up relatively short, these findings suggest that a lower dose to the lungs could lead to an increased incidence of leukemia recurrences due to a lower dose to the thoracic wall or to lower incidence of chronic GVHD.

Fractionated TBI and methotrexate-cyclosporin do not seem to increase relapses in BMT for first chronic phase CML patients: results of a single centre study.

Fractionated total body irradiation (FTBI) and methotrexate-cyclosporin A(MTX-CSA) have been found useful in reducing interstitial pneumonia (IP) and acute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) in bone marrow transplantation patients, but an increase in relapse rate has been observed by some authors when these strategies are used. To evaluate this relapse risk, we performed a retrospective analysis in 24 consecutive first chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia patients who received an HLA-identical non-T cell-depleted graft in a single institution. All were conditioned with cyclophosphamide plus FTBI (12 Gy in six fractions delivered twice daily for 3 days) (CY-FTBI) and received MTX-CSA as GVHD prophylaxis. Serial hematologic and cytogenetic bone marrow analysis were performed at least three times (days +30, +100, +360) and at variable intervals thereafter in long-term survivors. Actuarial probabilities of developing IP and acute GVHD greater than or equal to II were respectively 5.9% and 44.2%, with a GVHD-associated mortality of 33%. Four-year actuarial relapse and disease-free survival rates were 7.7% and 48.2% respectively. No exclusively cytogenetic relapses were observed. Our results suggest that CY-FTBI and MTX-CSA are not associated with an increase in relapse rate in 1CP-CML patients.

High-dose chemo-radiotherapy followed by autologous Philadelphia chromosome-negative blood progenitor cell transplantation in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Twenty-three patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in early chronic phase (ECP) and not previously treated with alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) (10 patients), in ECP but pretreated with IFN-alpha (<12 months) (seven patients) and in late chronic phase (LCP) pretreated with IFN-alpha (>12 months) (six patients) underwent autografting with Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-negative blood progenitor cells (BPCs) (20 patients), or partially/totally Ph-positive BPCs (three patients), previously mobilized during the early phase of recovery after aplasia induced by intensive chemotherapy. The conditioning regimen consisted of high-dose chemotherapy alone or followed by total body irradiation (TBI). Recombinant G-CSF was given after BPCs infusion on day +8. All patients in ECP not pretreated with IFN-alpha are alive and five of them are Ph-negative in the marrow after autografting. Six of seven patients autografted with Ph-negative BPCs in the group of ECP pretreated with IFN-alpha (<12 months) are alive and two of them are still Ph-negative in the marrow. In the same group, the only patient transplanted with partially Ph-positive BPCs, died of blastic transformation 2 months after reinfusion. Three patients (two patients autografted with Ph-negative BPCs and one patient with Ph-positive BPC) in the group of LCP pretreated with IFN-alpha >12 months are alive but Ph-positive after autografting. The other three patients of the same group died of procedure-related toxicity (two patients) and blastic transformation (one patient). Seventeen patients (10/10 ECP not pretreated with IFN-alpha; 5/7 ECP pretreated with IFN-alpha and 2/6 LCP pretreated with IFN-alpha) of 23 autografted patients were treated with IFN-alpha +/- IL-2. Toxicities after autografting were mostly related to myelosuppression, particularly thrombocytopenia. All patients of the two groups pretreated with IFN-alpha developed febrile episodes during the aplastic phase following BPCs reinfusion. No patient autografted in ECP and those not pretreated with IFN-alpha developed febrile episodes. This is also probably due to the use of i.v. antibiotic and antimicotic prophylaxis when neutrophils were < or = 1 x 10(9)/l after autografting. Greater toxicity was observed in patients pretreated with IFN-alpha, being lethal in two cases in LCF. In conclusion, the "in vivo' manipulation approach employed in our institution is a safe procedure and it results in a high collection of Ph-negative cells in the blood if the cells are harvested: (1) in early chronic phase; (2) in early phase of recovery after chemotherapy-inducing aplasia; (3) in patients not extensively pretreated with IFN-alpha. The data presented here have shown encouraging trends in chronic phase of CML and offer new perspective for patients without an HLA-identical donor or for patients who do not respond to IFN-alpha.

[Chemotherapy and radiation therapy].

Stem cell transplantation and interferon-based treatment are major strategies in chronic phase CML and chemotherapy is one of limited therapeutic options when they are not available or ineffective. Hydroxyurea is superior to busulfan in better effect and lesser side effects. Homoharringtonine, a plant alkaloid, has shown cytogenetic response in one third of patients who were resistant to interferon therapy, and a better response rate in combination with cytarabine and interferon alfa. There have been no improvement of clinical outcome in treatment of accelerated phase and blastic crisis although many trials including decitabine are going on.

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for chronic myeloid leukemia in first chronic phase: a randomized trial of busulfan-cytoxan versus cytoxan-total body irradiation as preparative regimen: a report from the French Society of Bone Marrow Graft (SFGM).

From March 1988 to March 1991, 19 French bone marrow transplant (BMT) centers participated in a prospective randomized trial comparing two conditioning regimens for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia transplanted in first chronic phase with an HLA identical sibling donor. A total of 120 consecutive patients were randomized to receive either 120 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide followed by total body irradiation (CY-TBI; n = 55) or 16 mg/kg of busulfan followed by 120 mg/kg of CY (BU-CY; n = 65). Two different TBI regimens were used. Thirteen patients received a 10-Gy single-dose TBI (SDTBI), and 42 received a fractionated TBI (FTBI). Median time between diagnosis and BMT was 315 days. Overall 5-year actuarial survival was 62.9% (65.8% +/- 12.5% for CY-TBI and 60.6 +/- 11.7% for BU-CY; P = .5), and overall disease-free survival was 55% (51% +/- 14% for CY-TBI and 59.1% +/- 11.8% for BU-CY; P = .75). All patients conditioned with CY-TBI experienced sustained engraftment; in contrast, 4 of 65 patients conditioned with BU-CY rejected the graft (P = .18). There was no significant statistical difference between the two groups regarding transplant-related mortality (29% for CY-TBI and 38% for BU-CY; P = .44). So far, with a median follow up of 42 months, 11 patients have relapsed; 9 relapses occurred after CY-TBI, mostly after FTBI (8 of 9) and 2 after BU-CY (P = .02). The actuarial risk of relapse was 4.4% +/- 6.7% after BU-CY, 11.1% +/- 20.8% after SDTBI, and 31.3% +/- 18.1% after FTBI (P = .039). In addition, independently of the conditioning regimen, the increase of posttransplant immunosuppression in 16 patients with an anti-interleukin-2 receptor monoclonal antibody (MoAb) in addition to a short course of methotrexate and cyclosporine was shown to increase the actuarial risk of relapse (57% +/- 30% with MoAb v 9% +/- 7.3% without MoAb; P = .001). We conclude that BU is an acceptable alternative to TBI for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in first chronic phase receiving BMT from HLA identical sibling donors. Both BU-CY and CY-TBI regimens gave similar transplant-related mortality, and the antileukemic efficiency of BU-CY regimen was either similar or even higher than that of CY-TBI.