Patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma experiencing disease progression after treatment with brentuximab vedotin have poor outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Brentuximab vedotin (BV) is a key therapeutic agent for patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). The outcomes of patients experiencing disease progression after BV are poorly described. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed our institutional database to identify patients with cHL treated with BV who were either refractory to treatment or experienced disease relapse. We collected clinicopathologic features, treatment details at progression and outcome. RESULTS: One hundred patients met inclusion criteria, with a median age of 32 years (range 18-84) at progression after BV. The median number of treatments before BV was 3 (range 0-9); 71 had prior autologous stem cell transplant. The overall response rate (ORR) to BV was 57%, and the median duration of BV therapy was 3 months (range 1-25). After disease progression post-BV, the most common treatment strategies were investigational agents (n = 30), gemcitabine (n = 15) and bendamustine (n = 12). The cumulative ORR to therapy was 33% (complete response 15%). After a median follow-up of 25 months (range 1-74), the median progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 3.5 and 25.2 months, respectively. In multivariate analysis, no factors analyzed were predictive of PFS; age at progression >45 years and serum albumin <40 g/l at disease progression were associated with increased risk of death. Among patients who achieved response to therapy, allogeneic stem cell transplantation was associated with a non-significant trend toward superior OS (P = 0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with BV-resistant cHL have poor outcomes. These data serve as a reference for newer agents active in BV-resistant disease.

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in patients >65 years of age.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: We present a retrospective analysis of 99 consecutive patients with relapsed non-Hodgkin's lymphomas who were older than 65 years at the time of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous progenitor cell transplantation. RESULTS: Median age at transplant was 68 years (range 65-82). Thirty-six percent of patients had a hematopoietic cell transplantation comorbidity index of >2 at the time of transplantation. The cumulative nonrelapse mortality was 8% [95% confidence interval (CI) 4-17] at 26 months and the 3-year overall survival (OS) was 61% (95% CI 49-71). On multivariate analysis, disease status at transplant and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) > normal were significant predictors for OS (P = 0.002). Comorbidity index of >2 did not impact OS but did predict for higher risk of developing grade 3-5 toxicity (P = 0.006). Eight patients developed secondary myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myelogenous leukemia after transplantation (cumulative incidence 16%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with relapsed lymphomas who are >65 years of age should be considered transplant candidates, particularly if they have chemosensitive disease and normal LDH levels at the time of transplantation. Patients with comorbidity index of >2 can also undergo transplantation with acceptable outcomes but may be at higher risk for developing toxicity.

Treatment of donor graft failure with nonmyeloablative conditioning of fludarabine, antithymocyte globulin and a second allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation.

Graft failure is a life-threatening complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT). We assessed the feasibility of performing a second SCT after such failure when fludarabine and antithymocyte globulin (ATG) are used for non-myeloablative conditioning and tacrolimus for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. Nine patients with SCTs for various hematologic malignancies were enrolled, eight with primary and one with secondary graft failure. The median time between the first and second SCT was 53 days. Eight patients had the same donor for their second SCT, and one had a cord blood transplant. Three patients were not evaluable because of early death; the other six had evidence of donor cell engraftment. Six of the nine patients developed acute grade II-IV GVHD, the main cause of death. Overall, we found that fludarabine and ATG conditioning before a second SCT allows engraftment of donor hematopoiesis. Future studies should include more intense GVHD prophylaxis.

Risk factors associated with late cytomegalovirus reactivation after allogeneic stem cell transplantation for hematological malignancies.

We analyzed the clinical factors associated with late cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation in a group of 269 consecutive recipients of allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT) for hematological malignancies. Eighty-four subjects (31%) experienced late CMV reactivation, including 64 with prior early reactivation and 20 with isolated late reactivation. Multivariate analyses were conducted in patients with early CMV reactivation to identify factors associated with late recurrence. Important risk factors included lymphoid diagnosis, occurrence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), greater number of episodes of early reactivation, persistent day 100 lymphopenia and the use of a CMV-seronegative donor graft. We combined these risk factors in a predictive model to identify those at relatively low, intermediate and high risk. The low-risk group (15% cumulative incidence, CI) encompassed patients without early CMV reactivation, and subjects transplanted for a myeloid malignancy from a matched-related (MR) donor without subsequent acute GVHD. The high-risk patients (73% CI) met all of the following criteria: (1) received an MR graft but developed GVHD, or received a non-MR graft irrespective of GVHD; (2) had more than two episodes of early reactivation; and (3) received a CMV-seronegative graft and/or remained persistently lymphopenic at day 100 after SCT. The remaining patients had an intermediate incidence of 32%.

Sixty as the new forty: considerations on older related stem cell donors.

The era of reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation, with its emphasis on older patients, has created new challenges in the management of what is now an older related stem cell donor population. These donors are now on average no less than 10 years older than in the mid-1990s. Donors over 70 years of age are no longer isolated or exceptional cases. They may still be considered eligible for donation but many of them, based on the older age and their medical history, may no longer fully qualify as 'healthy' or 'normal'. The older the donor, the more likely that hematologic abnormalities, comorbidities and treated malignancies will complicate the picture. Assessing the risk-benefit ratio for both donor and recipient can now be more challenging than ever.

Bendamustine added to allogeneic conditioning improves long-term outcomes in patients with CLL.

Bendamustine has shown a favorable safety profile when included in chemotherapy regimens for several types of lymphoma, including CLL. This study investigated the long-term effect of adding bendamustine to a conditioning regimen on survival, rate of engraftment, immune recovery and GvHD after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) in CLL patients. These outcomes were compared with the fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR) conditioning regimen. We reviewed the data for 89 CLL patients treated on three trials at our institution. Twenty-six (29%) patients received bendamustine, fludarabine and rituximab (BFR) and 63 (71%) received FCR. Patient characteristics were similar in both groups. Ten (38%) BFR-treated patients vs only two (3%) FCR-treated patients did not experience severe neutropenia (P=<0.001). The 3-year overall survival estimates for the BFR and FCR groups were 82 and 51% (P=0.03), and the 3-year PFS estimates were 63% and 27% (P=0.001), respectively. The 2-year treatment-related mortality was 8 and 23% and the incidence of grade 3 or 4 GvHD was 4% and 10%, respectively. This study is the first to report that addition of bendamustine to alloSCT conditioning for CLL patients is associated with improved survival and lower mortality, myelosuppression, and GvHD.

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for primary breast cancer refractory to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

The role of high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) in patients with refractory breast cancer is not well established. Forty-two female patients (median age of 46 years) with breast cancer refractory to neoadjuvant chemotherapy received HDCT (cyclophosphamide, carmustine and thiotepa) supported by an autologous peripheral blood stem cells transplant. Their disease had been refractory (defined as less than partial response) to one (18 patients) or two (24 patients) regimens of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Twenty-nine patients had surgery before HDCT. The best response after surgery, HDCT, and radiation therapy was assessed 60 days after transplantation. Thirty patients had complete remission, eight had a PR, one had a minor response, and three had progressive disease. In seven of 13 patients whose disease was inoperable before HDCT, it became operable. After a median follow-up of 42 months, 21 patients were alive, and 15 remained disease free. Five-year overall survival (OS) was 57% (CI, 50-64%), and the estimated 5-year progression-free survival was 40% (CI, 32-48%). Both OS and PFS were better in patients whose disease became operable after chemotherapy than in those whose disease remained inoperable. A randomized study is warranted in this patient population.

Phase II study of unrelated cord blood transplantation for adults with high-risk hematologic malignancies.

Cell dose is a critical determinant of outcomes in unrelated cord blood (CB) transplantation. We investigated a strategy in which CB units should contain at least 2 x 10(7) total nucleated cells/kg of recipient weight, otherwise a second unit had to be added. We report the results of a study that was prematurely closed owing to toxicity. Patients with advanced hematologic malignancies without a human leukocyte antigen-matched sibling or unrelated donor were eligible. Conditioning regimen consisted of fludarabine and 12 Gy of total body irradiation (n=11), or melphalan (n=4), with antithymocyte globulin. Graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis was tacrolimus and methotrexate. Fifteen patients with acute leukemia (n=9), chronic myelogenous leukemia (n=2), multiple myeloma (n=2) and lymphoma (n=2) were treated; 60% had relapsed disease at transplantation. Three patients received double CB transplants. The 100-day and 1-year treatment-related mortality rates were 40 and 53%, respectively. Median time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment was 22 days (n=10) and 37 days (n=10), respectively. One patient had secondary graft failure and five patients failed to engraft. Two patients are alive and disease free; 4-year actuarial survival is 33 versus 0% for patients transplanted in remission versus in relapse. We concluded that disease status was the main determinant of treatment failure in this study.

Idarubicin cardiotoxicity: a retrospective study in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplasia.

PURPOSE: To estimate the incidence of idarubicin (IDA)-related cardiomyopathy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplasia (MDS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analyzed a group of 127 AML/MDS patients who received IDA-based induction and postremission or salvage therapy and achieved a complete remission (CR) that lasted > or = 12 weeks for the development of IDA-related congestive heart failure (CHF). CHF was defined as definite if a resting left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of < or = 45% measured by radionuclide ventriculogram (RV) accompanied the clinical diagnosis of CHF, which had to be made during or within 6 months of receiving IDA and for which no other cause was apparent; without RV confirmation, the diagnosis was considered probable. Patients who had RVs performed were evaluated for decreasing LVEF. Older age (> or = 70 years), prior/sequential anthracycline/mitoxantrone (anthraquinone) therapy, and cardiac disease/hypertension were evaluated as risk factors for the development of CHF. RESULTS: One hundred fifteen patients were assessable (median age, 40 years; median dose, 96 mg/m2). Sixty-five had RVs performed during therapy; 43 had risk factors. The probability of IDA-related cardiomyopathy was 5% at a cumulative IDA dose of 150 to 290 mg/m2, with 18 patients receiving doses greater than 150 mg/m2. At a cumulative IDA dose of 150 mg/m2, the probability of a mild or greater asymptomatic decrease probability of a mild or greater asymptomatic decrease in LVEF (> or = 10% to a level < or = 50%) was 18%, whereas the probability of a moderate or greater asymptomatic decrease in LVEF (> or = 15% to a level < or = 45%) was 7%. No patient with asymptomatic LVEF decreases developed CHF. CHF was more frequent in patients with prior/sequential exposure to anthracyclines/mitoxantrone (P = .01). CONCLUSION: In this patient group, IDA-related cardiomyopathy was uncommon with cumulative IDA doses of up to 290 mg/m2. Asymptomatic LVEF decreases were more frequent, but their predictive value for the development of CHF is unclear.

Transplant-lite: induction of graft-versus-malignancy using fludarabine-based nonablative chemotherapy and allogeneic blood progenitor-cell transplantation as treatment for lymphoid malignancies.

PURPOSE: To investigate the use of a nonmyeloablative fludarabine-based preparative regimen to produce sufficient immunosuppression to allow engraftment of allogeneic stem cells and induction of graft-versus-leukemia/lymphoma (GVL) as the primary treatment modality for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lymphoma. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients were studied. Six patients were in advanced refractory relapse, and induction therapy had failed in two patients. Patients with CLL or low-grade lymphoma received fludarabine 90 to 150 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 900 to 2,000 mg/m2. Patients with intermediate-grade lymphoma or in Richter's transformation received cisplatin 25 mg/m2 daily for 4 days; fludarabine 30 mg/m2; and cytarabine 500 mg/m2 daily for 2 days. Chemotherapy was followed by allogeneic stem-cell infusion from HLA-identical siblings. Patients with residual malignant cells or mixed chimerism could receive a donor lymphocyte infusion of 0.5 to 2 x 10(8) mononuclear cells/kg 2 to 3 months posttransplantation if graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was not present. RESULTS: Eleven patients had engraftment of donor cells, and the remaining four patients promptly recovered autologous hematopoiesis. Eight of 11 patients achieved a complete response (CR). Five of six patients (83.3%) with chemosensitive disease continue to be alive compared with two of nine patients (22.2%) who had refractory or untested disease at the time of study entry (P = .04). CONCLUSION: These findings indicate the feasibility of allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation with a nonablative preparative regimen to produce engraftment and GVL against lymphoid malignancies. The ability to induce remissions with donor lymphocyte infusion in patients with CLL, Richter's, and low-grade and intermediate-grade lymphoma is direct evidence of GVL activity against these diseases. This approach appears to be most promising in patients with chemotherapy-responsive disease and low tumor burden.

High-dose chemotherapy for relapsed and refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: mediastinal localization predicts for a favorable outcome.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate the outcome of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous transplantation in patients with diffuse B-cell large-cell lymphoma, and, specifically, to evaluate the impact of primary mediastinal localization on the outcome of high-dose chemotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of all patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who underwent autologous marrow or peripheral-blood stem-cell transplantation at our institution between January 1 986 and December 1995. RESULTS: Ninety patients were identified, of whom 31 (34%) had a primary mediastinal B-cell large-cell lymphoma (PML). Cumulative probabilities of disease-free survival, overall survival, and disease progression are 40% (95% confidence interval [CI], 29 to 51), 42% (95% CI, 31 to 53), and 52% (95% CI, 40 to 64), respectively. By univariate analysis, low lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level and low Ann Arbor stage at transplant were associated with improved survival and disease-free survival. There was a trend for improved disease-free survival and survival for patients with PML. Multivariate stepwise Cox regression analysis showed that LDH level, Ann Arbor stage, and primary mediastinal localization were independent favorable prognostic factors for disease-free survival and survival. LDH level and Ann Arbor stage were also predictive for the risk of disease progression. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that patients with PML may display an increased susceptibility to high-dose chemotherapy compared with other types of B-cell large-cell lymphoma. These findings, if confirmed, may have implications for the initial management of patients with PML.

Allogeneic peripheral-blood progenitor-cell transplantation for poor-risk patients with metastatic breast cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of allogeneic peripheral-blood progenitor-cell (PBPC) transplantation and to assess graft-versus-tumor effects in patients with metastatic breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ten patients with metastatic breast cancer that involved the liver or bone marrow were treated with high-dose chemotherapy and allogeneic PBPC transplantation. The median age was 42 years (range, 29 to 55). The median number of metastatic sites was three (range, one to five). The conditioning regimen was cyclophosphamide (6,000 mg/m2), carmustine (BCNU; 450 mg/m2), and thiotepa (720 mg/m2) (CBT regimen). Patients received graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis using cyclosporine- or tacrolimus-based regimens. RESULTS: All patients had engraftment and hematologic recovery. Three patients developed grade > or = 2 acute GVHD and four patients had chronic GVHD. After transplantation, one patient was in complete remission (CR), five achieved a partial remission (PR), and four had stable disease (SD). In two patients, metastatic liver lesions regressed in association with skin GVHD after withdrawal of immunosuppressive therapies. The median follow-up time was 408 days (range, 53 to 605). The median progression-free survival duration was 238 days (range, 53 to 510). CONCLUSION: We conclude that allogeneic PBPC transplantation is a feasible procedure for patients with poor-risk metastatic breast cancer. The regression of tumor associated with GVHD provides suggestive clinical evidence that graft-versus-tumor effects may occur against breast cancer. Compared with autologous transplantation, allogeneic PBPC transplantation is associated with the additional risks of GVHD and related infections. Allogeneic transplantation should only be performed in the context of clinical trials and its ultimate role requires demonstration of improved progression-free survival.

Reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation in relapsed and refractory Hodgkin's disease: low transplant-related mortality and impact of intensity of conditioning regimen.

A total of 40 patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin's disease (HD) underwent reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) from an HLA-identical sibling (n=20) or a matched unrelated donor (n=20). The median age was 31 years (range 18-58). Disease status at allo-SCT was refractory relapse (n=14) or sensitive relapse (n=26). The conditioning regimens were fludarabine-cyclophosphamide+/-antithymocyte globulin (n=14), a less intensive regimen, and fludarabine-melphalan (FM) (n=26), a more intensive one. The two groups had similar prognostic factors. The median time to neutrophil recovery (ie absolute neutrophil count >/=500/microl) was 12 days (range 10-24). The median time to platelet recovery (ie platelet count >/=20 000/microl) was 17 days (range 7-132). Day 100 and cumulative (18-month) transplant-related mortalities (TRMs) were 5 and 22%. Twenty-four patients (60%) are alive (14 in complete remission or complete remission, unconfirmed/uncertain) with a median follow-up of 13 months (4-78). In all, 16 patients expired (TRM n=8, disease progression n=8). FM patients had better overall survival (73 vs 39% at 18 months; P=0.03), and a trend towards better progression-free survival (37 vs 21% at 18 months; P=0.2). RIC allo-SCT is feasible in relapsed/refractory HD patients with a low TRM. The intensity of the preparative regimen affects survival.

Causes of initial remission induction failure in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.

We analyzed 144 of 475 previously untreated patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML, n = 87) and 'high-risk' myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS, n = 57) who failed to achieve a complete remission with fludarabine- and high-dose cytarabine-containing regimens between 1991 and 1994. The AML and MDS groups were comparable with regard to age, major prognostic indicators, supportive care received, type of antileukemia response and causes of death and were considered together. The causes of death of 118 evaluable patients were compared to a series of 123 AML initial remission induction failures previously reported from our institution. The induction failure rate was significantly lower (30 vs 43% P <0.001). We found a significant decrease in fatal infections (autopsied patients, P = 0.001) and a reduction in bacterial (autopsied and non-autopsied patients, P <0.005) but not fungal (non-autopsied patients, P = 0.93; autopsied patients P = 0.15) infections as causes of induction death. Pulmonary hemorrhage was twice as common in the present report (P < 0.005, with pulmonary hemorrhage almost three times as common as fatal cerebral hemorrhage. A comparison restricted to the AML patients in the present study yielded similar results. We conclude that the mortality profile in AML remission induction has undergone substantial changes at our institution since our last report, probably as a consequence of the introduction of new chemotherapy regimens and supportive care modalities.

Factors predicting complete remission and subsequent disease-free survival after a second course of induction therapy in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia resistant to the first.

Patients with newly diagnosed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) with persistent leukemia after their first course (CO1) of induction chemotherapy are generally given a second similar course, although their outcome is known to be worse than CO1 responders even when a complete remission (CR) is achieved. To identify specific patients who should or should not receive a second induction course identical to the first we analyzed outcome in 370 patients with persistent AML after CO1 who received a second identical course. One hundred and forty-two (38%) achieved CR on this course; median subsequent disease-free survival (DFS) in these 142 was 29 weeks and 10% were alive in CR at 5 years. The 5-year DFS of CO2 responders was significantly lower than that of CO1 responders (10 vs 24%, P < 0.001). Logistic regression identified pretreatment cytogenetic abnormalities (except inv 16, t(8;21), or t(15;17)), presence of an antecedent hematologic disorder or secondary AML as each having unfavorable prognostic import similar to the case in untreated patients. Treatment with "high-dose' rather than standard-dose cytarabine increased the probability of 2nd course CR. The occurrence of pneumonia, sepsis, or major hemorrhage were prognostically unfavorable, primarily in the high-dose cytarabine group, and, once in CR, DFS was shorter in this group. Equations predicting probability of 2nd course CR were derived. If validated prospectively these could be used to assign patients to either receive a second course of initial induction therapy or to change to salvage or investigational therapy after the first course. Alternatively, they could be used to stratify patients entering a prospective randomized trial comparing these two strategies.

Allogeneic transplantation for advanced leukemia: improved short-term outcome with blood stem cell grafts and tacrolimus.

We have evaluated the use of blood stem cell grafts for rapid hematopoietic recovery and tacrolimus (FK506) as GVHD prophylaxis to reduce early mortality after allogeneic transplantation. Eighty-five adults with advanced leukemia received high-dose thiotepa, busulfan, and cyclophosphamide as a preparative regimen in a prospective Phase II study. All donors were HLA-matched and related. Marrow (BMT) was used for 44 patients and filgrastim-mobilized blood stem cells (SCT) for 41 patients. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine (CsA) or FK506 with methotrexate (MTX) or methylprednisolone (MP). The median time to neutrophil recovery was earlier after SCT than after BMT (day 10 vs. 17, P<0.001), but this was due to the selective use of MTX only in the BMT patients. The risk of grades 2-4 GVHD was lower with FK506 than with CsA (16% vs. 45%, P=0.02) and was the same for SCT recipients as for BMT recipients (33% vs. 34%). Regimen-related toxicity was significantly lower after SCT than after BMT but did not differ between the FK506 and CsA patients. In comparison with those receiving the standard transplant (BMT with CsA and MTX), only the SCT recipients using FK506 and MP had a significantly higher survival at day 180 posttransplant (84% vs. 53%, P=0.014). In multivariate analyses, use of FK506 was associated with a lower risk of treatment-related mortality and a higher survival at day 180, while the diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia was associated with a higher risk of treatment-related mortality. These data suggest that the use of blood stem cell grafts and FK506 can reduce the early mortality after allogeneic transplantation for advanced leukemia.

Blood stem cell procurement: donor safety issues.

Allogeneic transplantation of rhG-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) is now being increasingly performed, but safety considerations for hematologically normal PBSC donors have not been fully addressed. Experience in this area is rapidly accumulating, however, and on the basis of currently available data, a consensus is gradually emerging on several issues: (1) rhG-CSF treatment and PBSC collection seem to have an acceptable short-term safety profile in normal donors. There is a need for continued safety monitoring, however. (2) rhG-CSF doses up to 10 microg/kg/day show a consistent dose-response relationship with the mobilization (and collection) of CD34+ progenitor cells, and this dose is acceptable for routine clinical use. Whether higher doses are superior (or cost-effective) remains to be determined, and they may produce more severe side-effects. The potential risks of marked leukocytosis (arbitrarily defined as a leukocyte count of more than 70 x 10(9)/l) have been a concern, and rhG-CSF dose reduction is performed by many centers to maintain leukocyte counts below this level. (3) Transient post-donation cytopenias, involving granulocytes, lymphocytes and platelets, may occur and are at least partly related to the leukapheresis procedure. These are generally asymptomatic and self-limited; follow-up blood counts are not necessarily required. Reinfusion of autologous platelet-rich plasma should be considered for donors with expected post-donation thrombocytopenia (platelet count <80-100 x 10(9)/l). (4) Donors should meet the eligibility criteria which apply to donors of apheresis platelets, with the exception that pediatric (as well as elderly) donors may also be considered. There is insufficient information at this time to clearly establish definite contraindications for PBSC collection in a hematologically normal donor. Potential contraindications include the presence of inflammatory, autoimmune or rheumatologic disorders, as well as atherosclerotic or cerebrovascular disease. (5) The creation of an International PBSC Donor Registry is desirable to facilitate monitoring the long-term effects of the procedure. Individual institutions or donor centers are encouraged to establish their own PBSC donor follow-up system, preferably with a standardized approach to data collection.

Long-term follow-up of normal peripheral blood progenitor cell donors treated with filgrastim: no evidence of increased risk of leukemia development.

Data on the long-term safety of filgrastim administration in peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) donors are scarce. The main theoretical risk is believed to be the possible development of leukemia. We conducted a survey of filgrastim-treated related donors to determine the incidence of leukemia after PBPC donation. Of the 343 PBPC donors eligible for inclusion in the survey, 281 (82%) were interviewed by telephone between December 1998 and February 2000. The mean age at donation was 44 years. The median time elapsed after PBPC donation was 39 months, and in 278 (99%) of the interviewed donors it was at least 1 year. At the time of the interview none of the donors had been diagnosed with acute or chronic leukemia. Although the sample size is small and the follow-up duration is limited, these data suggest that exposure to filgrastim is not associated with any notable risk of leukemia development in PBPC donors.

Peripheral blood stem cell donation: an analysis from the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR) and European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplant (EBMT) databases.

Donation-related data for 1488 allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplants reported to the International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR) or the European Blood and Marrow Transplant Group (EBMT) by 152 teams worldwide between 1994 and 1998 were reviewed. In 1998, 26% of allografts registered with the IBMTR were collected from blood. Median age of PBSC donors was 38 years (range <1-76), and 55% were male. Of 1486 donor-recipient pairs evaluable for HLA compatibility, 1322 (89%) were HLA-identical siblings. Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was employed to mobilize PBSCs in almost all (99%) cases. One hundred and seventy (20%) of 828 evaluable PBSC donors had a central catheter placed for leukapheresis. Eighty-five percent of 1321 evaluable PBSC grafts were collected with one or two leukaphereses. There were 15 reported donation-related adverse events (1% of evaluable donors). Complications were catheter-related in five. No donation-related fatalities were reported. These data suggest that PBSC donation is becoming more prevalent worldwide. It appears to have a safety profile comparable to marrow harvesting, although experience with the latter is much more extensive.

Acanthamoeba meningoencephalitis after bone marrow transplantation.

Two patients presented with fever and nodular pulmonary infiltrates 9 and 6 months after marrow transplantation for leukemia. The second patient also had painful subcutaneous nodules that subsequently ulcerated. Both had a history of sinusitis and both had recently been treated with corticosteroids. During treatment with antibacterial and antifungal antibiotics, they developed rapid mental deterioration, coma and/or seizures. CT findings included hydrocephalus with extensive cortical and periventricular hypodensities in the first patient, and hydrocephalus with a cerebellar hemorrhage and edema in the second patient. Cerebrospinal fluid had a low glucose and elevated protein levels with few erythrocytes and little or no pleocytosis. Despite therapy with broad-spectrum antibiotics, including coverage for opportunistic infections, both patients died. Autopsy revealed Acanthamoeba species causing necrotizing meningoencephalitis, pneumonitis and adrenalitis in the first patient and causing necrotizing meningoencephalitis and dermatitis in the second patient. While these are the only reported cases of disseminated Acanthamoeba infection in marrow transplant recipients, a review of the literature suggests that this organism may be a new cause of opportunistic infections.