A Retrospective Comparison of Autologous Vs. Allogeneic Transplantation for Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma: A Single Institution Experience

Peripheral T-cell Lymphomas (PTCL) are a heterogenous group of malignanices that represent 10–15% of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). This group has a worse prognosis with conventional chemotherapy compared to B-cell lymphomas. Both autologous (AutoSCT) and allogeneic stem cell transplantation (AlloSCT) have been used as consolidation in first remission and at relapse, but the role of transplantation has not been clearly defined.

We report a retrospective analysis of 42 patients with PTCL who underwent AutoSCT (24) or AlloSCT (18) between 8/1997 and 12/2007. The AlloSCT group consisted of 4 PTCL unspecified (PTCLu), 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphomas (AITL), 2 panniculitic T-cell lymphomas, 2 cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL) with large cell transformation, 2 NK-cell lymphomas, 2 anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCL, 1 Alk+, 1 Alk unknown), 1 hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma, 1 enteropathic T-cell lymphoma, and 1 refractory CTCL. The AutoSCT group consisted of 6 PTCLu, 12 ALCL (5 Alk+, 5 Alk−, 2 Alk unknown), 4 AITL, 1 CTCL with transformation, and 1 T-lymphoblastic lymphoma. The median age of the AlloSCT and AutoSCT groups was 51 (range 29–72) and 52 years (range 19–67), respectively.

The median number of prior treatments of the AlloSCT and AutoSCT groups were 3 (range 1 to 5) and 1 (range 1 to 5), respectively. Within the AlloSCT group there were 14 matched-related donor transplants, and 4 matched-unrelated donor transplants; 7 were ablative and 11 were reduced-intensity transplants; the AlloSCT conditioning regimens varied. The AutoSCT group predominantly received BEAM as their conditioning regimen. Median time from diagnosis to AlloSCT or AutoSCT was 18.4 (range 6.9 to 109) and 7.5 (range 3.9 to 25) months, respectively. Median follow-up times for the AlloSCT and AutoSCT groups were 28.6 and 23.5 months, respectively.

The day 100 transplant-related mortality rates in the AlloSCT and AutoSCT groups were 11% and 0%, respectively. Within the AlloSCT group the relapse and non-relapse mortalities were 11% and 33%, respectively. In the AutoSCT group, the relapse mortality was 33%. The 1- and 2-year overall survival (OS) rates were similar within the AlloSCT and AutoSCT groups (78% vs 74%, and 67% vs 60%, respectively). The 1- and 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates for the AlloSCT vs AutoSCT groups were 68% vs 52%, and 53% vs 45%, respectively (p = 0.28). Within the AutoSCT group, 14 patients (58%) were transplanted in first complete remission (CR1), and 10 (42%) in second complete remission (CR2), beyond CR2, or partial remission (PR). Patients in CR1 had significantly better PFS (57 vs 17 months, p=0.007) and OS (76 vs 29 months, p=0.004) than those in CR2, PR2, or beyond. Within the AlloSCT group, there was a trend toward poorer OS in 6 patients (33%) who had prior AutoSCT (32 vs 60 months, p=0.15). One patient (6%) was transplanted in CR1, and is still alive.

We conclude that outcomes for AutoSCT are best in CR1. For patients with resistant or relapsed disease, AlloSCT should be strongly considered rather than AutoSCT. Prior AutoSCT may affect the outcome of AlloSCT. These results suggest that a prospective randomized trial comparing AutoSCT and AlloSCT for aggressive PTCL in first remission is warranted.