Volume 14, Issue 9 , Pages 1057-1063, September 2008
Unrelated Cord Blood Transplantation for Severe Aplastic Anemia
Article Outline
Abstract
In the present study we evaluated the feasibility of unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT) in patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). The outcome of 31 SAA patients (median age 28; range: 0.9-72.3 years old) who received UCBT was analyzed. The cumulative incidences of the neutrophil and platelet recovery after UCBT were 54.8 and 72.2%, respectively (95% confidence interval [CI] = 36.0%-70.3% and 51.3%-85.3%, respectively). The cumulative incidences of grade ≥II acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD, cGVHD) were 17.1% (95% CI = 6.2%-32.8%) and 19.7% (95% CI = 6.2%-38.8%), respectively. Currently, 13 patients are alive, having survived for 33.7 months (median; range: 6-77 months) after UCBT. The probability of overall survival (OS) at 2 years was 41.1% (95% CI = 23.8%-57.7%). A conditioning regimen that included low-dose total body irradiation (TBI) (2-5 Gy), fludarabine, and cyclophosphamide resulted in a favorable OS (80%; 95% CI = 20.4%-96.9%). This result suggests that UCBT using the optimal conditioning regimen can be a salvage treatment for patients without a suitable bone marrow donor and warrants evaluation in further prospective studies.
Key Words: Unrelated cord blood transplantation, Severe aplastic anemia
Introduction
Over the last 2 decades, the outcome of patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) has dramatically improved regardless of whether patients received immunosuppressive therapy (IST) or bone marrow transplantation (BMT) 1, 2, 3. BMT from an HLA-matched sibling is curative in the majority of younger patients with SAA, and is currently recommended as first-line treatment [4]. IST, with a combination of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and cyclosporine (CSA), has been an alternative therapy for patients without an HLA-matched sibling. BMT from an unrelated donor (UD) is used as a salvage therapy for patients who fail to respond to IST or who experience a relapse of the disease. However, in general, the results of UD-BMT have been inferior to those achieved with an HLA-matched sibling.
The report the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) on UD-BMT (n = 231), for the period 1988-1998, showed that the overall survival (OS) rates for matched and mismatched UD-BMT in patients with SAA were 39% and 36%, respectively [5]. The Japan Marrow Donor Program (JMDP) reported a favorable outcome with 56% survival rate in 154 patients with SAA who received UD-BMT between 1993 and 2000 [6]. In the recent 2 reports from the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and the French Society of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (SFGM-TC), the outcomes of UD-BMT for SAA before and after 1998 were compared. The results demonstrated improved OS rates of UD-BMT since year 1998 (32% versus 57% for EBMT and 29% versus 50% for SFGM-TC) 7, 8. The authors speculated that the better HLA matching because of the introduction of high-resolution HLA typing may have contributed to the improved outcomes. In pediatric series, 90% OS rates have been recently reported for UD-BMT patients, which is comparable to that observed for BMT from a matched sibling 9, 10.
Treatment approaches for patients who lack a suitable unrelated bone marrow donor remain a great challenge. Cord blood has been used as an alternative source of HSCT, and it has the advantages of rapid availability on demand and a low incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). There were only a few reports on unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT), which included patients with SAA. The results showed poor outcome and high incidence of graft failure 11, 12. However, a few small series and case reports of successful UCBT for SAA have recently been reported 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. Because of the possible reporting bias, the general efficacy of UCBT is still unknown. Therefore, we decided to further examine this procedure by using the database of the Japan Cord Blood Bank Network (JCBBN). We identified 31 patients with acquired SAA who received UCBT and analyzed the outcome.
Patients and Methods
Patients
From September 1998 until February 2006, 53 patients with acquired SAA received UCBT through JCBBN. Twenty-two patients who received UCBT as a salvage therapy for the engraftment failure after previous HSCT were excluded, and the remaining 31 patients were included in this study. Patient characteristics and the cord blood units are summarized in Table 1. Patients were eligible for UCBT if they had no HLA-identical related or unrelated bone marrow donor. Patients who could not wait for UD-BMT because of unstable diseases were also considered to be eligible for UCBT. Cord blood units with 0 to 2 HLA locus mismatches by serology in HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DRB1 were searched and then the unit with the largest cell dose was selected. At least 2.0 × 107/kg mononuclear cells (MNCs) were given in all patients.
Table 1. Patient and Donor Characteristics (n = 31)
| Characteristic | |
|---|---|
| Median patient age, years (range) | 27.9 (0.8-72.7) |
| Sex (male/female) | |
 Patient (n) | 11/20 |
| Donor (n) | 14/17 |
| Etiology of aplastic anemia | |
| Idiopathic/hepatitis associated (n) | 30/1 |
| Disease duration before UCBT: median, days (range) | 337 (31-5063) |
| 1 year or less/ 1-3 year/3 year or more/unknown (n) | 13/4/8/5 |
| Red blood cell transfusions before UCBT | |
| Less than 20 times/20 or more times/unknown (n) | 8/21/2 |
| Platelet transfusions before UCBT | |
| Less than 20 times/20 or more times/unknown (n) | 7/22/2 |
| HLA mismatches (serologic): GVHD direction (n = 31) | |
| 0/1/2 (n) | 4/18/9 |
| HLA mismatches (serologic): rejection direction (n = 31) | |
| 0/1/2 (n) | 6/17/8 |
| HLA mismatches (DNA typing): GVHD direction (n = 22) | |
| 0/1/2/3/4 (n) | 2/6/6/6/2 |
| HLA mismatches (DNA typing): rejection direction (n = 22) | |
| 0/1/2/3/4 (n) | 1/5/12/3/1 |
The age of the patients ranged 0.9 to 72.7 years (median 27.9 years), and there were 8 patients older than 50 years of age. There were 25 patients who had been previously treated with IST, including ATG + CSA (n = 13), ATG only (n = 4), or CSA only (n = 8). In 4 patients, androgen had been given. The remaining 2 patients were given only supportive therapy. All patients or their guardians gave informed consent for transplantation and submission of the data to the JCBBN.
Recipient-Donor HLA Matching
Data were available for 31 patients with serology-based recipient-donor HLA matching and for 22 patients who underwent high-resolution DNA typing for class I-HLA-A, HLA-B, and DRB1 (Table 1). The HLA disparities for both GVHD and rejection directions are shown in Table 1.
Transplantation Procedure
Characteristics of the transplantation procedures are listed in Table 2. The conditioning regimens varied according to the individual centers used. The 3 most commonly used regimens were: TBI (4-5 Gy) + fludarabine (FLU; 120-175 mg/m2) + Melphalan (MEL) (80-120/mg/m2) (n = 12), TBI (2-4 Gy) + FLU (90-250/mg/m2) and cyclophosphamide (CY; 50-100 mg/kg or 2250/mg/m2) (n = 5), and TBI (10-12 Gy) + CY (120-200 mg/kg) + ATG (n = 3). Of the 25 patients given irradiation, 24 received TBI and 1 underwent thoracoabdominal irradiation. A total of 7 patients were administered with ATG, either horse ATG (Lymphoglobulin 30-75 mg/kg in 5 patients) or rabbit ATG (Thymoglobulin 10 mg/kg in 2 patients). GVHD prophylaxis also varied according to the individual centers (Table 2). To facilitate the recovery of neutrophils, all patients received recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. The number of mononucleated cells, colony-forming units of granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM), and CD34-positive cells of the cord blood units at the time of freezing are shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Transplant Procedures (n = 31)
| No. of Patients | |
|---|---|
| Conditioning Regimen | |
| TBI (4-5 Gy) + MEL+ FLU | 12 |
| TBI (2-4 Gy) + CY + FLU | 5 |
| TBI (10-12 Gy) + CY + ATG | 3 |
| Others | 11 |
| Radiation | |
| TBI/TAI | 25/1 |
| No radiation | 7 |
| ATG | |
| Yes/No | 7/24 |
| GVHD prophylaxis | |
| CSA | 6 |
| CSA + others (MTX/steroid/MMF) | 10 |
| Tacrolimus | 7 |
| Tacrolimus + others (MTX/steroid) | 8 |
| MNC cell dose | |
| ≥2.0 × 107/kg, < 3.0 × 107/kg | 15 |
| ≥ 3.0 × 107/kg | 16 |
| CFU-GM cell dose | |
| < 2.0 × 104/kg | 14 |
| ≥ 2.0 × 104/kg | 15 |
| Unknown | 2 |
| CD34 cell dose | |
| < 1.0 × 105/kg | 10 |
| ≥ 1.0 × 105/kg | 15 |
| Unknown | 6 |
Definitions and Statistical Analysis
The status of all patients was evaluated based on the last follow-up report, which was performed using the standardized forms provided by the JCBBN. All results were analyzed as of June 2008.
Date of engraftment was defined as the first of the 3 consecutive days where the neutrophil recovery was >0.5 × 109/L. Platelet recovery was defined as the first of the 3 consecutive days where the unsupported platelet count was >50 × 109/L. Chimerism was evaluated in 12 patients, with fluorescent in situ hybridization for the Y chromosome performed in 6 sex-mismatched grafts and quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis for microsatellite DNA markers performed in 6 sex-matched transplantations. Acute and chronic GVHD (aGVHD, cGVHD) were diagnosed and graded according to standard clinical criteria 18, 19.
Probability of OS was estimated according to the Kaplan-Meier method. GVHD and engraftment were assessed using the cumulative incidence procedure, and death was the competing event. Univariate comparisons among various groups were made using the log-rank test. The variables evaluated included age of the patient, donor sex, sex mismatch, disease duration before UCBT, the number of pre-UCBT transfusions for red cells and platelets, IST before UCBT, HLA matching by serology and high-resolution DNA typing for both GVHD and rejection directions, the number of mononuclear cells, CFU-GM, CD34-positive cells of the cord blood units at the time of freezing, conditioning regimens, and the administration of ATG and GVHD prophylaxis (single agent versus ≥2 agents, MTX versus no MTX, or CSA versus tacrolimus). All statistical analyses were carried out with version 10 of the STATA software (StataCorp, College Station, TX).
Results
Engraftment
Sustained engraftment was observed in 17 patients. The cumulative incidences of the neutrophil and platelet recovery after UCBT were 54.8 and 72.2%, respectively (95% confidence interval [CI] = 36.0%-70.3% and 51.3%-85.3%, respectively; Figure 1). The median times to achieve a neutrophil count ≥0.5 × 109/l and a platelet count ≥50 × 109/l were 19 days (range: 12-35 days) and 59 days (range: 39-145 days), respectively. Chimerism analysis results were available in 8 patients with sustained neutrophil engraftment. All of these patients showed complete donor chimerism with more than 99% donor cells. No mixed chimerism was observed. There were 7 patients who failed to achieve sustained engraftment among patients who survived more than 28 days after UCBT. Five patients did not achieve a primary engraftment. Although 3 of them underwent a second UCBT, all died of infections, with (n = 1) or without (n = 2) engraftment of the second graft. Autologous recovery was noted in 1 patient, which was proven by the chimerism analysis that demonstrated 100% recipient cells. One patient had achieved engraftment on day 19, but she suffered from late graft failure at day 176 and received second HSCT at day 203. The patient was still alive at the time of the last follow-up.
Figure 1.
(A) Cumulative incidence of sustained donor neutrophil engraftment (>0.5 × 109/L) and (B) platelet engraftment (>50 × 109/L) after unrelated cord blood transplantation in patients with aplastic anemia.
Results of the univariate analysis for engraftment are shown in Table 3. The GVHD prophylaxis with a single agent (CSA or tacrolimus) exhibited a significantly better engraftment rate than that seen for the other methods (75.0% versus 33.3%, P = 0.02). When there was a lower number of transfusions (<20 times) of red cells and platelets prior to the HSCT, there was a trend for a better chance of successful engraftment compared to cases where there were higher number of transfusions (≥20 times), although this was not statistically significant. The number of infused MNCs, CFU-GM, and CD34 had no impact on the engraftment.
Table 3. Outcome following Unrelated Cord Blood Transplantations for Aplastic Anemia: Univariate Analysis
| Covariates | 2-Year-OS (%) (95% CI) | P | Engraftment (%) (95% CI) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recipient age | ||||
| <20 year (n = 9) | 44.4 (13.6-71.9) | .18 | 44.4 (13.6-71.9) | .76 |
| 20- 40 year (n = 12) | 56.3 (24.4-79.1) | 66.7 (33.7-86.0) | ||
| >40 year (n = 10) | 20.0 (3.0-47.5) | 50.0 (18.4-75.3) | ||
| Disease duration before UCBT | ||||
| <1 year (n = 13) | 35.7 (13.0-59.4) | .34 | 57.1 (28.4-78.0) | .67 |
| ≥1 year (n = 12) | 47.6 (18.2-72.4) | 58.3 (27.0-80.1) | ||
| RBC transfusions before UCBT | ||||
| <20 (n = 8) | 62.5 (22.9-86.1) | .26 | 75.0 (31.5-93.1) | .08 |
| ≥20 (n = 21) | 31.4 (13.1-51.7) | 47.6 (25.7-66.7) | ||
| Platelet transfusions before UCBT | ||||
| <20 (n = 7) | 57.1 (17.2-83.7) | .28 | 85.7 (33.4-97.9) | .05 |
| ≥20 (n = 22) | 35.0 (16.1-54.7) | 45.4 (24.4-64.3) | ||
| HLA matching by serologic typing (GVHD direction) | ||||
| 0-1 mismatched (n = 22) | 49.2 (27.3-68.0) | .34 | 63.6 (40.3-79.9) | .10 |
| 2 mismatched (n = 9) | 22.2 (3.4-51.3) | 33.3 (78.3-62.3) | ||
| HLA matching by serologic typing (Rejection direction) | ||||
| 0-1 mismatched (n = 23) | 43.5 (23.3-62.1) | .64 | 52.2 (30.5-70.0) | .59 |
| 2 mismatched (n = 8) | 37.5 (8.7-67.4) | 62.5 (22.9-86.1) | ||
| Conditioning regimen | ||||
| TBI + CY + FLU (n = 5) | 80.0 (20.4-96.9) | .02 | 75.0 (40.8-91.2) | .17 |
| TBI + MEL + FLU (n = 12) | 46.9 (17.6-71.9) | 80.0 (20.4-96.9) | ||
| Others (n = 14) | 21.4 (5.2-44.8) | 28.6 (08.8-52.4) | ||
| ATG | ||||
| No (n = 24) | 48.9 (27.8-67.0) | .007 | 66.7 (44.3-81.7) | .19 |
| Yes (n = 7) | 14.3 (0.7-46.5) | 14.3 (0.7-46.5) | ||
| GVHD prophylaxis | ||||
| CSA or tacrolimus only (n = 13) | 54.6 (27.4-75.3) | .07 | 75.0 (46.3-89.8) | .02 |
| CSA or tacrolimus+others (n = 18) | 26.7 (8.3-49.6) | 33.3 (12.2-56.4) | ||
| MTX | ||||
| No (n = 20) | 38.5 (17.7-59.1) | .93 | 60.0 (35.7-77.6) | .24 |
| Yes (n = 11) | 45.5 (16.7-70.7) | 45.5 (16.7-70.7) | ||
| MNC | ||||
| 2 × 107/kg-3 × 107/kg (n = 15) | 45.0 (19.4-67.8) | .61 | 60.0 (31.8-79.7) | .70 |
| ≥3 × 107/kg (n = 15) | 37.5 (15.4-59.8) | 50.0 (24.-71.0) | ||
| CD34 | ||||
| <1 × 105/kg (n = 15) | 45.7 (14.3-73.0) | .32 | 70.0 (32.9-89.2) | .52 |
| ≥1 × 105/kg (n = 15) | 33.3 (12.2-56.4) | 53.3 (26.3-74.4) |
GVHD and Viral Infections
Acute GVHD (≥grade II) was observed in 5 patients (grade II; n = 4, grade III; n = 1) on days 8 through 56, and was lethal in the 1 patient with grade III aGVHD. Chronic GVHD was observed in 4 patients (extensive: n = 1, limited: n = 3; de novo n = 2, progression from aGVHD n = 2) on days 124 through 213. Figure 2 depicts the cumulative incidence of grade II-IV aGVHD (17.1%; 95% CI = 6.2%-32.8%) and cGVHD (19.7%; 95% CI = 6.2%-38.8%). Viral reactivations were commonly observed in this study. CMV reactivation was noted in 9 patients, and 1 of them developed CMV disease. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation was noted in 1 patient, having developed cerebral infarction, which was considered to be related with EBV. Adenovirus induced cystitis occurred in 1 patient.
Figure 2.
Cumulative incidence of ≥ grade II aGVHD (A) and cGVHD (B) in patients with aplastic anemia who received UCBT.
Survival
Of the 31 total patients, 13 are presently alive, with survival durations of 6 to 77 months (median 33.7 months) after the transplantations. The probability of OS at 2 years was 41.1% (95% CI = 23.8%-57.7%). The results of univariate analysis of the factors influencing survival are shown in Table 3. The conditioning regimen and the administration of ATG were the only factors that were significantly related to the survival. The conditioning regimen, which included low-dose TBI, FLU, and CY, resulted in better outcomes than were seen for the other regimens (Table 3 and Figure 3). The administration of ATG was associated with poor outcome (Table 3 and Figure 3). There were 5 out of 7 patients given ATG that died before engraftment because of infections (n = 3) or hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) (n = 2). In the 2 other patients, 1 demonstrated autologous recovery, whereas the other patient has had sustained engraftment and is currently still alive. There tended to be a better outcome noted for GVHD prophylaxis with a single agent (either CSA or tacrolimus) compared to prophylaxis with 2 or more agents. The outcome for the patients aged 40 years and older was inferior to that seen for the younger patients, although this was not statistically significant.
Figure 3.
Probability of survival after conditioning regimens in patients with aplastic anemia, who received unrelated cord blood transplantation. TBI: total body irradiation, CY: cyclophosphamide, MEL: melphalan, FLU: fludarabine, ATG: antithymocyte globulin.
In the 18 patients who died, the causes of death were graft failure (n = 7), bacterial/fungal infections (n = 3), EBV-related cerebral infarction (n = 1), VOD (n = 3), aGVHD (n = 1), acute respiratory distress syndrome (n = 1), encephalopathy (n = 1), and cardiac toxicity (n = 1).
Discussion
The outcome of 31 patients with SAA who received UCBT was analyzed in this study. This is the first report on a nationwide multicentral study that focused on UCBT for SAA as far as we know. The overall survival rate was 41%, which is comparative to the results of the large registry-based analysis of UD-BMT for SAA by CIBMTR [5], but inferior to the results of some recent reports of UD-BMT 6, 20. The incidence and the severity of aGVHD and cGVHD were considerably lower in this study, which is advantageous for UCBT. The major problem encountered, however, was still the high incidence of engraftment failure after UCBT. In the present study the conditioning regimen with the low-dose TBI, FLU, and CY resulted in better outcome (80% survival rate) compared to other regimens. This regimen and the selection of optimal donor with better HLA match and higher cell dose may improve the outcome of UCBT for SAA.
Previous reports on the conditioning regimen of UCBT for SAA are limited. Mao et al. [13] reported on 9 patients with SAA who were conditioned with ATG and CY (60 mg/kg) prior to undergoing UCBT. A total of 7 out of 9 of these patients survived with hematologic recovery. However, a donor-recipient mixed chimerism was present in all patients. There are a few case reports of UCBT for SAA using more intensified regiments, which resulted in successful engraftment along with complete chimerism 14, 15, 16, 21.
Radiation-containing regimens are efficient in achieving better engraftments and widely used within the UD-BMT settings for patients with SAA, although these regimens are associated with significant early and late toxicities, including secondary malignancies [22]. Recent study by Deeg et al. [20] to define the optimal TBI dose in combination with CY (200 mg/kg) and ATG for use with UD-BMT in patients with SAA showed that 2 Gy was sufficient to allow engraftment without increasing toxicities. This finding was also supported by a Japanese study on UD-BMT in patients with SAA, which reported that in a small group given a conditioning regimen of low-dose TBI (2-5 Gy), CY (200 mg/kg), and ATG, there was a 90% survival rate [7].
Fludarabine is currently widely used for nonmyeloablative transplants for a variety of diseases including SAA 23, 24, 25, 26. In the recent study on UD-SCT from the Severe Aplastic Anemia Working Party of the EBMT (SAA WP-EBMT), they designed a non-TBI regimen that used FLU (120 mg/m2), CY (1200 mg/m2), and ATG [27]. In this study, a total of 38 both pediatric and adults patients with SAA were included (36 BMT and 2 PBSCT patients) and the 2-year survival rate was 73%, with a low incidence of aGVHD and cGVHD. Therefore, this result suggests that a FLU containing regimen might be effective for use with UD-HSCT in SAA. The authors suggested that the conditioning regimen might need to be modified for adults through the addition of a low dose of TBI, as there was a significantly lower engraftment rate seen in the adult patients (82% overall, 68% in adults). Overall, these findings in previous reports and in this study suggest that the conditioning regimen that included the low-dose TBI and FLU resulted in favorable outcomes. In present study, the 7 patients given ATG were poor. Only 1 of them achieved engraftment and is alive. However, the number of patients given ATG was too small to reach any definitive conclusions and the benefit of ATG in UCBT for SAA should be evaluated in a large prospective study.
The GVHD prophylaxis using a single agent (CSA or tacrolimus) exhibited a better engraftment rate and a marginally better survival rate compared to that seen when 2 or more immunosuppressive agents were used. In the latter group, steroid, MTX, or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) were given in addition to CSA or tacrolimus. Because of the limited number of patients and the highly heterogeneous regimen of the GVHD prophylaxis in this study, it is difficult to define the optimal GVHD prophylaxis based on the current results. However, the low incidence and severity of GVHD that we noted in our study suggests that a single agent, regardless of whether it is tacrolimus or CSA, may be effective enough to prevent GVHD in UCBT for SAA.
One of the most important factors that determine the success of UCBT is the cell dose in the CB 11, 28, 29, 30. In the present study, a minimum of 2 × 107/kg MNCs were infused in all patients. In this condition, the dose of MNCs, CFU-GM, and CD34 had no impact on engraftment and survival. One of the benefits of UCBT is that it can overcome the HLA barrier. Despite the HLA disparity in the majority of the patients, the incidence of GVHD was quite low in this study. There was a tendency for better HLA matching to result in a better outcome, although this was not statistically significant. Selection of the CB units with higher cell dose and better HLA match may be essential to improve the outcome of UCBT for SAA.
In our study there were also 8 patients who were older than 50 years of age, which is generally considered to be over than the cutoff age for transplantation. Because of the poor outcome of UCBT in older patients (OS = 20% in group with age >40 years old), UCBT cannot be recommended for older patients at present, and repeated IST should be considered in these patients 31, 32.
In summary, this first multicentral study focused on the UCBT for SAA suggests that UCBT can be an alternative treatment for SAA patients who failed to IST and have no suitable bone marrow donor. The results may be improved by using the optimal conditioning regimen such as low-dose TBI, FLU, and CY and by donor selection of better HLA match and higher cell dose.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a Research Grant for Tissue Engineering (H17-014) from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. The authors would like to thank all of the staff members of the collaborating institutes of the Japan Cord Blood Bank Network for taking care of and reporting information on the patients. We would also like to thank Dr. Yoshiko Atsuta for the statistical analysis support.
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PII: S1083-8791(08)00291-7
doi:10.1016/j.bbmt.2008.07.003
© 2008 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Volume 14, Issue 9 , Pages 1057-1063, September 2008
