Second allogeneic stem cell transplantation in myeloid malignancies.

For patients with myeloid malignancies who relapse after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), one salvage option is a second SCT. We retrospectively analyzed outcomes of the second allo-SCT in 25 patients who received at least 2 allografts from related/unrelated donors due to relapse of acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome or myelofibrosis after the first SCT. A minority of the acute myeloid leukemia/myelodysplastic syndrome patients had reached complete hematological remission before the second SCT (6/25, 24%). Reduced conditioning strategies were performed in the majority (n = 23). Complete remission was achieved in all 21 cases with available data after the second SCT, but relapse was seen in 11/25 patients (44%). After a median follow-up of 18 months (range 6-47), 8/25 patients (32%) were still alive, and of those, 6 (24%) were in stable remission. In 9 cases mortality was associated to relapse and in 8 cases to transplant-related causes (treatment-related mortality; 8/25, 32%). In conclusion, a second SCT offers the chance of stable remission for some patients relapsing with a myeloid malignancy after a first allo-SCT, although high treatment-related mortality and relapse rates remain a problem. Efforts should concentrate on an optimization of conditioning strategies, immunosuppression and post-transplant surveillance for this specific situation.

Graft versus leukemia effect against juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia after unrelated cord blood transplantation.

A 13-month-old female underwent unrelated cord blood transplantation (CBT) for juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). In spite of progression of the disease after a conditioning regimen with high-dose chemotherapy, a complete remission was induced in concordance with development of acute GVHD after reduction of the immunosupressant. She has been in complete remission for 1 year after transplantation. This case illustrates that CBT can provide a potent graft versus leukemia (GVL) effect against JMML.

Serial investigation of PTPN11 mutation in nonhematopoietic tissues in a patient with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia who was treated with unrelated cord blood transplantation.

After allogeneic stem-cell transplantation, nonhematopoietic tissues contain donor-derived cells; however, whether cells from malignant hematological disease can also be found in nonhematopoietic tissues is unclear. This report describes a juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) case with a typical PTPN11 mutation (p.E76K) at different allele frequencies in the bone marrow mononuclear cells, buccal smear cells, and fingernails at diagnosis, which was suggestive of PTPN11 somatic mosaicism; however, the PTPN11 mutation in the buccal smear cells and fingernails was lost after unrelated cord blood transplantation. These results suggest that JMML-derived cells may migrate into and reside in nonhematopoietic tissues and furthermore that these cells can be eradicated by cord blood transplantation.

Central nervous system lesions due to juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia progressed in a boy undergoing first line chemotherapy.

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia is a rare malignancy that occurs in pediatric patients. Previous reports, have described leukemic cells may infiltrate many organs, such as the lungs, skin, liver, spleen, and intestines, but not the central nervous system, although central nervous system infiltration remains a point of concern in every patient with acute leukemia. Here, we present one case of a boy with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia who developed multiple lesions in the brain while undergoing chemotherapy with 6-mercaptopurine and cytarabine. We diagnosed the central nervous system involvement by magnetic resonance imaging, cerebrospinal fluid cytology, and the patient's clinical course. He was treated with a high dose of cytarabine and intrathecal chemotherapy, then with unrelated cord blood stem cell transplantation. He has been in a first complete remission for more than 18 months after cord blood stem cell transplantation without any neurological sequelae. In conclusion, we encountered a boy with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia who developed central nervous system lesions under standard chemotherapy. We subsequently switched treatment to central nervous system-oriented chemotherapy, which resulted in a good clinical condition and successful cord blood stem cell transplantation.

Development of an allele-specific minimal residual disease assay for patients with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia.

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia is an aggressive and frequently lethal myeloproliferative disorder of childhood. Somatic mutations in NRAS, KRAS, or PTPN11 occur in 60% of cases. Monitoring disease status is difficult because of the lack of characteristic leukemic blasts at diagnosis. We designed a fluorescently based, allele-specific polymerase chain reaction assay called TaqMAMA to detect the most common RAS or PTPN11 mutations. We analyzed peripheral blood and/or bone marrow of 25 patients for levels of mutant alleles over time. Analysis of pre-hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, samples revealed a broad distribution of the quantity of the mutant alleles. After hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, the level of the mutant allele rose rapidly in patients who relapsed and correlated well with falling donor chimerism. Simultaneously analyzed peripheral blood and bone marrow samples demonstrate that blood can be monitored for residual disease. Importantly, these assays provide a sensitive strategy to evaluate molecular responses to new therapeutic strategies.