The impact of donor-to-recipient gender compatibility on outcomes of haploid hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with hematological malignancies

Abstract

Objective: To investigate how gender differences between the donor and the recipient affect the effectiveness of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) and pure peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) in the treatment of malignant hematological diseases. Methods: From February 2015 to September 2020, 648 hematological malignancies patients underwent myeloablative condition regimen haplo-HSCT treatment at the Bone Marrow Transplant Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University. The median age was 32 (14-62) years, with 363 males (56.0% ) and 285 females (44.0% ) present. 242 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (37.3% ) , 293 cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (45.2% ) , 56 cases of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (8.7% ) , 27 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (4.2% ) , and 30 cases of other hematological malignancies (4.6% ) . Results: ① The 3-year overall survival (OS) , DFS, the incidence of Ⅱ-Ⅳ grade acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) , the incidence of Ⅲ-Ⅳ grade aGVHD, the 3-year incidence of moderate & severe chronic GVHD (cGVHD) , severe cGVHD, the 3-year incidence of relapse, and NRM of the whole group were (73.10±1.90) % , (70.80±1.90) % , (33.96±1.87) % , (13.08±1.33) % , (35.10±2.14) % , (10.66±1.38) % , (19.43±1.67) % , and (9.80±1.24) % , respectively. ②There was no statistically significant difference between the donor-recipient gender match and donor-recipient gender mismatch groups in the 28-day cumulative neutrophil engraftment rate, 28-day cumulative platelet engraftment rate, the incidence of Ⅱ-Ⅳ grade aGVHD, the incidence of Ⅲ-Ⅳ grade aGVHD, 3-year OS, 3-year DFS, the cumulative incidence of relapse, NRM, and incidence of moderate & severe cGVHD, severe cGVHD. ③The 28-day cumulative neutrophil engraftment rate did not differ statistically between the male-female, female-female, male-male, and female-male groups (P=0.148) . The incidence of Ⅱ-Ⅳ grade aGVHD, the incidence of Ⅲ-Ⅳ grade aGVHD, 3-year OS, 3-year DFS, cumulative relapse rate, and NRM, and the incidence of cGVHD were not statistically different among the four groups (P>0.05) . The 28-day cumulative platelet engraftment rate of the female-male group was significantly lower than male-female group, and the female-female group [ (91.45±2.63) % vs. (94.77±1.75) % , P=0.004; (91.45±2.63) % vs. (95.54±2.05) % , P=0.005]. No significant difference existed in the 28-day cumulative platelet engraftment rate between the female-male group and the male-male group [ (91.45±2.63) % vs. (95.08±1.41) % , P=0.284]. ④Among patients ≤35 years old, the 3-year incidence of severe cGVHD patients receiving sister donors and sibling donors were (26.71±5.90) % and (10.33±4.43) % , respectively (P=0.054) . Patients accepting daughter donors and son donors had a 3-year incidence of moderate and severe cGVHD that was 40.07% vs. 27.41% , respectively, among those over 35 (40.07±6.65) % vs. (27.41±4.54) % (P=0.084) . ⑤Female donors to male recipients had a significantly lower 28-day cumulative platelet engraftment rate compared to the other groups [ (91.45±2.63) % vs. (95.08±0.95) % , P=0.037]. ⑥ Female donors to male recipients had a significantly lower 28-day cumulative platelet engraftment rate than the other groups in the ATG-Fresenius (ATG-F) 10 mg/kg group [ (89.29±4.29) % vs. (94.49±1.45) % , P=0.037]. But when compared to the other groups in the Rabbit Antihuman Thymocyte Immunoglobulin (rATG-T) 6 mg/kg group, the 28-day cumulative platelet implantation rate between female donors and male recipients was not significantly different [ (93.44±3.38) % vs. (95.62±1.26) % , P=0.404]. Conclusion: The main clinical outcomes of patients with malignant blood diseases following transplantation are unaffected by the gender combination of the donor and patient in the haplo-HSCT mode based on ATG and PBSC sources. Female donors to male recipients have a lower 28-day cumulative platelet engraftment rate and longer platelet engraftment times.