Acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease in umbilical cord blood transplant recipients.

Introduction: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent early complication post hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT), associated with high morbidity and mortality. Cord blood transplant (CBT) recipients are potentially exposed to more nephrotoxic insults, compared to patients undergoing HSCT from other donor sources. We aimed to identify risk factors for AKI in patients undergoing CBT. We also aimed to identify the impact of AKI on chronic kidney disease (CKD) and survival outcomes by one-year post-CBT. Methods: Adults and children who underwent a first CBT at our Institution were retrospectively evaluated. AKI was staged according to Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) definitions. Cox regression models were used to estimate the association of demographic factors and post-CBT parameters with the cause-specific hazard of AKI. Results: We identified 276 patients. Median age was 32 years, 28% (77/276) were children (<18 years) and 129 (47%) were white. A myeloablative conditioning regimen was administered to 243 patients (88%) and 248 (90%) received cyclosporine for GVHD prophylaxis. One-hundred and eighty-six patients (67%) developed AKI by day 60 post-transplant, with 72 (26%) developing severe AKI (stage 2 and 3). In a multivariable analysis, each increase in bilirubin level of 1 mg/dL was associated with a 23% increase in the risk of severe AKI (adjusted HR 1.23, 95% CI 1.13 - 1.34, p<.0001). Conversely, systemic steroid administration appeared to be protective of severe AKI (unadjusted HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.18 - 0.72, p=.004) in a univariate model . Two-hundred-forty-seven patients were evaluable at the one-year time point. Among those, 100 patients (40%) developed CKD one-year post-CBT. Severe AKI was associated with a higher hazard of non-relapse mortality (adjusted HR=3.26, 95% CI 1.65-6.45, p=.001) and overall mortality (adjusted HR=2.28, 95% CI 1.22-4.27, p=.01). Discussion: AKI is a frequent complication after CBT and is associated with worse outcomes. Questions remain as to the mechanism of the protective role of steroids on kidney function in the setting of CBT.

Delayed-onset cytomegalovirus infection is frequent after discontinuing letermovir in cord blood transplant recipients.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-seropositive umbilical cord blood transplantation (CBT) recipients have a high incidence of CMV-associated complications. There are limited data regarding the efficacy of letermovir for preventing clinically significant CMV infection (CS-CMVi), and the impact of letermovir prophylaxis on delayed-onset CMV reactivation after letermovir discontinuation, in CBT recipients. We compared the cumulative incidence of CS-CMVi and CMV detection in 21 CMV-seropositive CBT recipients receiving letermovir prophylaxis with a historical cohort of 40 CBT recipients receiving high-dose valacyclovir prophylaxis. Letermovir was administered on day +1 up to day +98. The cumulative incidence of CS-CMVi was significantly lower by day 98 in the letermovir cohort (19% vs 65%). This difference was lost by 1 year due to a higher incidence of delayed-onset CMV reactivation in the letermovir cohort. No patients developed CMV disease in the letermovir cohort within the first 98 days compared with 2 cases (2.4%) in the high-dose valacyclovir cohort; 2 patients developed CMV enteritis after discontinuing letermovir. Median viral loads were similar in both cohorts. Thus, letermovir is effective at preventing CS-CMVi after CBT, but frequent delayed-onset infections after letermovir discontinuation mandate close monitoring and consideration for extended prophylaxis.

Shared inflammatory pathways and therapeutic strategies in COVID-19 and cancer immunotherapy.

COVID-19, the syndrome caused by the infection with SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, is characterized, in its severe form, by interstitial diffuse pneumonitis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ARDS and systemic manifestations of COVID-19 are mainly due to an exaggerated immune response triggered by the viral infection. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS), an inflammatory syndrome characterized by elevated levels of circulating cytokines, and endothelial dysfunction are systemic manifestations of COVID-19. CRS is also an adverse event of immunotherapy (IMTX), the treatment of diseases using drugs, cells, and antibodies to stimulate or suppress the immune system. Graft-versus-host disease complications after an allogeneic stem cell transplant, toxicity after the infusion of chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy and monoclonal antibodies can all lead to CRS. It is hypothesized that anti-inflammatory drugs used for treatment of CRS in IMTX may be useful in reducing the mortality in COVID-19, whereas IMTX itself may help in ameliorating effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this paper, we focused on the potential shared mechanisms and differences between COVID-19 and IMTX-related toxicities. We performed a systematic review of the clinical trials testing anti-inflammatory therapies and of the data published from prospective trials. Preliminary evidence suggests there might be a benefit in targeting the cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, especially by inhibiting the interleukin-6 pathway. Many other approaches based on novel drugs and cell therapies are currently under investigation and may lead to a reduction in hospitalization and mortality due to COVID-19.

Cord blood maternal microchimerism following unrelated cord blood transplantation.

Cord blood transplantation (CBT) is associated with low risk of leukemia relapse. Mechanisms underlying antileukemia benefit of CBT are not well understood, however a previous study strongly but indirectly implicated cells from the mother of the cord blood (CB) donor. A fetus acquires a small number of maternal cells referred to as maternal microchimerism (MMc) and MMc is sometimes detectable in CB. From a series of 95 patients who underwent double or single CBT at our center, we obtained or generated HLA-genotyping of CB mothers in 68. We employed a technique of highly sensitive HLA-specific quantitative-PCR assays targeting polymorphisms unique to the CB mother to assay CB-MMc in patients post-CBT. After additional exclusion criteria, CB-MMc was evaluated at multiple timepoints in 36 patients (529 specimens). CB-MMc was present in seven (19.4%) patients in bone marrow, peripheral blood, innate and adaptive immune cell subsets, and was detected up to 1-year post-CBT. Statistical trends to lower relapse, mortality, and treatment failure were observed for patients with vs. without CB-MMc post-CBT. Our study provides proof-of-concept that maternal cells of the CB graft can be tracked in recipients post-CBT, and underscore the importance of further investigating CB-MMc in sustained remission from leukemia following CBT.

Pain Management in Childhood Leukemia: Diagnosis and Available Analgesic Treatments.

Pain is one of the most common symptoms in children suffering from leukemia, who are often misdiagnosed with other childhood painful diseases such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Corticosteroid-induced osteonecrosis (ON) and vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy (VIPN) are the most common painful manifestations. Additionally, ongoing pain may continue to impact quality of life in survivorship. This narrative review focuses on the pathophysiological mechanisms of pain in childhood leukemia and current available indications for analgesic treatments. Pain management in children is often inadequate because of difficulties in pain assessment, different indications across countries, and the lack of specific pediatric trials. Analgesic drugs are often prescribed off-label to children by extrapolating information from adult guidelines, with possible increased risk of adverse events. Optimal pain management should involve a multidisciplinary team to ensure assessment and interventions tailored to the individual patient.

Treosulfan-based conditioning is feasible and effective for cord blood recipients: a phase 2 multicenter study.

Although the use of treosulfan (TREO) in conventional donor hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has been extensively evaluated, its use in cord blood transplantation (CBT) for hematologic malignancies has not been reported. Between March 2009 and October 2019, 130 CBT recipients were enrolled in this prospective multicenter phase 2 study. The conditioning regimen consisted of TREO, fludarabine, and a single fraction of 2 Gy total-body irradiation. Cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil were used for graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis. The primary end point was incidence of graft failure (GF), and based on risk of GF, patients were classified as low risk (arm 1, n = 66) and high risk (arm 2, n = 64). The median age was 45 years (range, 0.6-65 years). Disease status included acute leukemias in first complete remission (CR; n = 56), in ≥2 CRs (n = 46), and myelodysplastic (n = 25) and myeloproliferative syndromes (n = 3). Thirty-five patients (27%) had received a prior HCT. One hundred twenty-three patients (95%) engrafted, with neutrophil recovery occurring at a median of 19 days for patients on arm 1 and 20 days for patients on arm 2. The 3-year overall survival, relapse-free survival (RFS), transplant-related mortality, and relapse for the combined groups were 66%, 57%, 18%, and 24%, respectively. Among patients who had a prior HCT, RFS at 3 years was 48%. No significant differences in clinical outcomes were seen between the 2 arms. Our results demonstrate that TREO-based conditioning for CBT recipients is safe and effective in promoting CB engraftment with favorable clinical outcomes. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00796068.

Patient and program characteristics of early outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs in the United States.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to perform a brief survey to determine the patient and program characteristics associated with early outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (EOCR) in the United States. METHODS: To assess these characteristics, a brief survey (13 items, some with multiple responses) was sent by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) to all program administrators or directors on the AACVPR mailing list in 2009. RESULTS: Responses were received from 138 program administrators or directors in 44 states, accounting for 19 689 patients who completed at least 1 EOCR exercise session. More men (68%) were enrolled in EOCR programs, and the 3 most prevalent primary diagnoses were percutaneous coronary intervention or stent (31%), coronary artery bypass graft surgery (30%), and myocardial infarction (22%). Seventy-two percent of responding programs were AACVPR certified and had staff trained primarily (66%) in either nursing or exercise physiology. Eighty-four percent of the programs offered an outpatient maintenance cardiac rehabilitation program, and 62% were located in a rural setting. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides valuable information on use and patient demographics of EOCR programs in the United States. This information may be beneficial for health care professionals, health care institutions, third-party payers, and regulatory agencies that seek to quantify health care quality.