Improved outcomes over time in patients aged ≥60 years undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first complete remission: a large study by the EBMT acute leukemia working party
Moukalled N, Ferhat AT, Bazarbachi A, Blaise D, Broers AEC, Castilla-Llorente C, Wagner-Drouet E, Halkes C, Schroeder T, Passweg J, Yakoub-Agha I, Dreger P, Kröger N, Fanin R, Gabellier L, Blau IW, Brissot E, Nagler A, Giebel S, Mohty M, Ciceri F
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation remains an important curative treatment for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Over time, significant progress in transplant and post-transplant care has allowed the delivery of transplant to older patients. We assessed changes over time in characteristics and outcomes in patients ≥60 years with ALL using a dataset from the EBMT registry. We identified 832 adult patients, with T-cell ALL (n = 143), Philadelphia chromosome positive B-cell ALL (n = 471), or Philadelphia chromosome negative B-cell ALL, transplanted 2010-2022 in first remission irrespective of the donor type. Those included 280 patients transplanted in 2010-2015, and 552 patients transplanted in 2016-2022. Patients transplanted in recent years were slightly older, more likely to have T or Ph- B-ALL and to receive a myeloablative total body irradiation conditioning. The 2-year leukemia free survival (LFS) and overall survival (OS) increased over time from 42-55% and from 51-65%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, LFS, OS, chronic and extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease rates were better in recent years (hazard ratio[HR] 0.68, 0.71, 0.66 and 0.5, respectively). These real-world data can serve as a benchmark indicating that the opportunity for transplant for the fit elderly should be considered and offered when possible.
© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
Bone marrow transplantation, 2025-05-30