ANZTCT practice statement: sinusoidal obstruction syndrome/veno-occlusive disease diagnosis and management.

Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome/veno-occlusive disease (SOS/VOD) is a life-threatening complication which can develop after haemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and some antibody-drug conjugates. Several SOS/VOD diagnostic and management guidelines exist, with the most recent and refined being the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation adult and paediatric guidelines. Timely diagnosis and effective management (including the availability of therapeutic options) significantly contribute to improved patient outcomes. In Australia and New Zealand, there is variability in clinical practice and access to SOS/VOD therapies. This review aims to summarise the current evidence for SOS/VOD diagnosis, prevention and treatment and to provide recommendations for SOS/VOD in the context of contemporary Australasian HSCT clinical practice.

The association of mobilising regimen on immune reconstitution and survival in myeloma patients treated with bortezomib, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone induction followed by a melphalan autograft.

G-CSF only mobilisation has been shown to enhance immune reconstitution early post-transplant, but its impact on survival remains uncertain. We undertook a retrospective review of 12 transplant centres to examine overall survival (OS) and time to next treatment (TTNT) following melphalan autograft according to mobilisation method (G-CSF only vs. G-CSF and cyclophosphamide [CY]) in myeloma patients uniformly treated with bortezomib, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone induction. Six centres had a policy to use G-CSF alone and six to use G-CSF + CY. Patients failing G-CSF only mobilisation were excluded. 601 patients were included: 328: G-CSF + CY, 273: G-CSF only. Mobilisation arms were comparable in terms of age, Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) groups and post-transplant maintenance therapy. G-CSF + CY mobilisation generated higher median CD34 + yields (8.6 vs. 5.5 × 106/kg, p < 0.001). G-CSF only mobilisation was associated with a significantly higher lymphocyte count at day 15 post-infusion (p < 0.001). G-CSF only mobilisation was associated with significantly improved OS (aHR = 0.60, 95%CI 0.39-0.92, p = 0.018) and TTNT (aHR = 0.77, 95%CI 0.60-0.97, p = 0.027), when adjusting for R-ISS, disease-response pre-transplant, age and post-transplant maintenance therapy. This survival benefit may reflect selection bias in excluding patients with unsuccessful G-CSF only mobilisation or may be due to enhanced autograft immune cell content and improved early immune reconstitution.