• Ron Ram, Rainer Storb, Brenda M Sandmaier, David G Maloney, Ann Woolfrey, Mary E D Flowers, Michael B Maris, Ginna G Laport, Thomas R Chauncey, Thoralf Lange, Amelia A Langston, Barry Storer, and George E Georges.
• Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue N., Seattle, WA 98109, USA.
• Haematologica. 2011 Aug 1; 96 (8): 1113-20.

BackgroundAllogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation is a potentially curative treatment for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, the majority of older adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are not candidates for myeloablative conditioning regimens. A non-myeloablative preparative regimen is a reasonable treatment option for this group. We sought to determine the outcome of non-myeloablative conditioning and allogeneic transplantation in patients with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia.Design And MethodsFifty-one patients (median age 56 years) underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation from sibling or unrelated donors after fludarabine and 2 Gray total body irradiation. Twenty-five patients had Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Eighteen of these patients received post-grafting imatinib.ResultsWith a median follow-up of 43 months, the 3-year overall survival was 34%. The 3-year relapse/progression and non-relapse mortality rates were 40% and 28%, respectively. The cumulative incidences of grades II and III-IV acute graft-versus-host disease were 53% and 6%, respectively. The cumulative incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease was 44%. Hematopoietic cell transplantation in first complete remission and post-grafting imatinib were associated with improved survival (P=0.005 and P=0.03, respectively). Three-year overall survival rates for patients with Philadelphia-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first remission and beyond first remission were 52% and 8%, respectively. For patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first remission who received post-grafting imatinib, the 3-year overall survival rate was 62%; for the subgroup without evidence of minimal residual disease at transplantation, the overall survival was 73%.ConclusionsFor patients with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first complete remission, non-myeloablative conditioning and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, with post-grafting imatinib for Philadelphia chromosome-positive disease, can result in favorable long-term survival.

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