Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Lymphoma: Baseline and Post-Transplant Prognostic Factors

Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has been increasingly used for the treatment of lymphoma. The outcomes of HCT in lymphoma depend on baseline patient characteristics including chemosensitivity and International Prognostic Index (IPI). Several studies have shown that post-transplant occurrence of acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and immune recovery might be associated with the outcomes. In this retrospective study, we investigated baseline and post-transplant prognostic factors in lymphoma patients receiving allogeneic HCT.

Patients and methods: Between May 1998 and December 2015, a total of 61 patients underwent allogeneic HCT for lymphoma and the median age was 39 years (range, 16-62 years). Thirty four patients (55.7%) had chemo-sensitive disease and 24 patients had received autologous HCT. Fifty-six of 61 patients received reduced-intensity conditioning regimens. We evaluated tumor response, overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), non-relapse mortality (NRM), and event-free survival (EFS) after allogeneic HCT along with potential prognostic factors including GVHD and immune reconstitution.

Results: Objective tumor response after HCT was observed in 41 (67.2%; complete 30 and partial 11). The 5-year probabilities of OS, NRM, PFS, and EFS were 30.7%, 23.5%, 41.3%, and 24.0%, respectively. Among the baseline characteristics, chemosensitivity had a significant impact on OS, NRM, and EFS. Persistent disease status at allogeneic HCT had an adverse effect on OS and low IPI risk category at HCT was associated with longer OS and EFS. HCT co-morbidity index ≥1 was an independent prognostic factor for higher NRM. Grade III-IV acute GVHD was associated with lower OS and higher NRM. Severe chronic GVHD had higher OS (60.0% vs. 19.8%, P=0.002), PFS (68.8% vs.35.9%, P <0.001), and EFS (46.7% vs. 19.1%, P<0.001) than those without severe chronic GVHD. Patients who achieved higher CD3+, CD4+ or CD8+ cell counts on post-transplant 1 month showed significantly higher OS and EFS than those who did not.

Conclusion: Chemosensitivity was the most important prognostic factor in allogeneic HCT for lymphoma. Acute GVHD had unfavorable impact, whereas, chronic GVHD had favorable impact on post allogeneic HCT outcomes. Early immune recovery could predict allogeneic HCT outcomes.