High-Dose Cyclophosphamide and Tacrolimus as Graft-versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis for Matched and Mismatched Unrelated Donor Transplantation

Abstract

The optimal prophylaxis regimen for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in the setting of single-locus mismatched unrelated donor (MMUD) allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) is unclear. The use of high-dose post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) after haploidentical transplantation is effective at overcoming the negative impact of HLA disparity on survival. Limited information is available regarding the efficacy of this strategy in alloHSCT from MMUDs. Most of the published studies have used the triple immunosuppressant model of haploidentical transplant combining PTCy with calcineurin inhibitors and mycophenolate mofetil or methotrexate. In our study, we propose the use of a simpler GVHD prophylaxis protocol comprising PTCy in combination with tacrolimus for MMUD and matched unrelated donor (MUD) alloHSCT. We performed a retrospective analysis of 109 consecutive recipients of alloHSCT from unrelated donors (MMUD, n=55; MUD, n=54) in a single center. Graft source was primarily peripheral blood (98%). No differences were observed between the MMUD and MUD groups with respect to 100-day cumulative incidence of grade II to IV acute GVHD (aGVHD; 31% versus 32%, respectively, P=.9), grade III to IV aGVHD (9% versus 7%, P=.7), and moderate/severe chronic GVHD (cGVHD) at 2 years (18% versus 14%, P=.6). Both groups showed similar cumulative incidence of 1 year nonrelapse mortality (13% versus 9%; P=.5) and 3-year relapse rates (24% versus 25%, P=.7). Progression-free survival and overall survival at 3 years for MMUD and MUD were 56% and 57% (P=.9) and 64% and 65% (P=.6), respectively. The 3-year probability of survival free of moderate/severe cGVHD and relapse was 56% and 55%, respectively. GVHD prophylaxis with PTCy and tacrolimus achieves low rates of severe aGVHD and cGVHD, as well as good survival outcomes, in recipients of both MMUD and MUD peripheral blood alloHSCT. This strategy overcomes the negative impact of single-locus HLA disparity.