Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Transformed Follicular Lymphoma (tFL): Results of a Retrospective Multicenter Study from GELTAMO/GETH-TC Spanish Groups

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 14; no. 22; p. 5670
• Main Authors: Rey-Búa, Beatriz, Cabrero, Mónica, Bento, Leyre, Montoro, Juan, Bastos-Oreiro, Mariana, Parody, Rocío, Yañez, Lucrecia, Lopez-Godino, Oriana, Zanabili, Joud, Herrera, Pilar, Gutierrez, Gonzalo, Perez, Ariadna, Piñana, Jose L., Novelli, Silvana, Cortés, María, Sureda, Ana Maria, Caballero, Dolores, García-Sancho, Alejandro Martín
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 18.11.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Bcl-2 protein; Blood platelets; Care and treatment; Clinical trials; Genetic transformation; Graft versus host disease; Graft-versus-host reaction; Hematopoietic stem cells; Lymphoma; Lymphomas; Medical prognosis; Medical records; Mortality; Neutrophils; Patient outcomes; Patients; Stem cell transplantation; Stem cells; Tomography; Toxicity; Transplantation; Spain; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; allogeneic stem cell transplantation; follicular lymphoma; transformed lymphoma
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers14225670

Background: Transformation of follicular lymphoma into an aggressive lymphoma (tFL) worsens the prognosis and the standard treatment is not completely defined. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) could be a potentially curative option for these patients, but it has not been widely explored. Methods: We designed a retrospective multicenter study to analyze the efficacy and toxicity of alloSCT in tFL patients and potential prognostic factors of survival. Results: A total of 43 patients diagnosed with tFL who underwent alloSCT in 14 Spanish centers between January 2000 and January 2019 were included. Median age was 44 (31–67) years. After a median follow-up of 58 months, estimated 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were both 35%. Estimated 100-day and 1-year non-relapse mortality (NRM) were 20% and 34%, respectively. The type of conditioning regimen (3-year OS of 52% vs. 20%, respectively, for reduced-intensity vs. myeloablative conditioning) and development of chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) (3-year OS of 75% vs. 40%) were the only factors significantly associated with OS. The only variable with an independent association with OS was cGVHD (HR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.2–9.6). Conclusions: Our results indicate that alloSCT continues to be a potentially curative option for patients with tFL.