Prognostic value of minimal residual disease before allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with acute leukemia

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Introduction. One of the main causes of treatment failure after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells transplantation (alloHSCT) for acute leukemia (AL) is disease relapse. In recent years, multiparameter fl ow cytometry (MPC) has been widely used to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) because of its capacity to identify patients with a high risk of relapse due to availability and the ability to obtain results in a timely manner.Aim — to evaluate the prognostic value of MRD status before allo-HSCT and the effect of donor type and conditioning intensity on long-term results of allo-HSCT of MOB-positive patients.Patients and methods. The analysis included 107 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 63 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who underwent allo-HSCT between September 2015 and June 2020. All patients were in complete morphological remission before allo-HSCT. At the time of allo-HSCT 91 patients with AML and 37 patients with ALL were in the first complete remission (CR), in their second and more than two CRs were 16 and 26 patients, respectively. The median follow-up was 18 (1.5–48) months for AML and 14 (1.8–60.1) months for ALL. Immunophenotypic study was performed before allo-HSCT. MRD was detected using a combination of the “different from normal” method and the search for cells with a leukemia-associated immunophenotype.Results. The disease status at the time of transplantation and the presence of MRD before allo-HSCT were independent factors infl uencing the probability of relapse (disease status: HR = 2.911, 95% CI: 1.328–6.379; MRD before allo-HSCT: HR = 7.667, 95% CI: 3.606–16.304) and post-transplant mortality (disease status: HR = 2.911, 95% CI: 1.328–6.379; MRD before allo-HSCT: HR = 7.667, 95% CI: 3.606–16.304). In univariate analysis, the relapse-free survival of MRD+ patients with AL in the first CR was significantly worse than in MRD– (AML: 23 % versus 57 %, p < 0.0001, ALL: 34 % versus 61.7 %, p = 0.0484), and the probability of relapse in MRD+ patients was significantly higher (AML: 75 % versus 12 %, p < 0.0001, ALL: 57 % versus 7 %, p = 0.0072). Pre-transplant MRD status was not prognostically significant for AL-patients in the second and third remission. The development of chronic GVHD reduces post-transplant mortality if it does not require systemic therapy with glucocorticosteroids (HR = 0.006, 95% CI: 0.008–0.446).Conclusion. Testing for MRD of patients with AL in the first CR before allo-HSCT is necessary for risk stratification and identification of patients who will need preventive post-transplant therapy in order to prevent disease relapse.