Haploidentical Bone Marrow Transplantation with Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide Plus Thiotepa Improves Donor Engraftment in Patients with Sickle Cell Anemia: Results of an International Learning Collaborative

Josu de la Fuente, Nathalie Dhedin, Tatsuki Koyama, Francoise Bernaudin, Mathieu Kuentz, Leena Karnik, Gérard Socié, Kathryn A. Culos, Robert A. Brodsky, Michael R. DeBaun, Adetola A. Kassim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

45 Scopus citations

Abstract

Curative therapy for individuals with severe sickle cell disease (SCD) who lack an HLA-identical sibling donor has been frustratingly elusive. In with the goal of improving engraftment while minimizing transplantation-related morbidity, a multi-institutional learning collaborative was developed in the context of a Phase II clinical trial of nonmyeloablative, related HLA-haploidentical (haplo) bone marrow transplantation (BMT) with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide. All eligible participants had hemoglobin SS, and 89% (16 of 18) had an identifiable donor. The median patient age was 20.9 years (IQR, 12.1 to 26.0 years), and the most common indication for transplantation was overt stroke (in 69%; 11 of 16). In the first 3 patients, the conditioning regimen consisted of antithymocyte globulin, fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and low-dose total body irradiation. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis included post-transplantation cyclophosphamide, mycophenolate mofetil, and sirolimus. Primary graft rejection occurred in 2 of the 3 patients (67%), which triggered the study-stopping rule. To reduce graft rejection risk, thiotepa was added to the conditioning regimen, and then 15 patients (including 2 with previous graft rejection) underwent haplo-BMT with this thiotepa-augmented conditioning regimen. At a median follow-up of 13.3 months (interquartile range [IQR], 3.8 to 23.1 months), 93% (14 of 15) had >95% stable donor engraftment at 6 months, with 100% overall survival. The median time to neutrophil engraftment (>500) was 22 days (IQR, 19 to 27 days), and that for platelet engraftment (>50 x 109/L) was 28 days (IQR, 27 days to not reached). Two patients had grade III-IV acute GVHD, 1 patient had mild chronic GVHD, and 86% of patients (6 of 7) were off immunosuppression therapy by 1-year post-transplantation. Our data suggest that haplo-BMT with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide and thiotepa improves donor engraftment without significantly increasing morbidity or mortality and could dramatically expand curative options for individuals with SCD.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1197-1209
Number of pages13
JournalBiology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Volume25
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2019

Keywords

  • Bone marrow transplantation
  • Haploidentical
  • Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Thiotepa

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Hematology
  • Transplantation

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