Key Points• Risk of grade III-IV acute and chronic GVHD is significantly lower with haploidentical compared with URD transplantation.• Relapse risk, NRM, PFS, and OS was similar in haploidentical transplants compared with unrelated donor transplants.We evaluated 917 adult lymphoma patients who received haploidentical (n 5 185) or HLAmatched unrelated donor (URD) transplantation either with (n 5 241) or without antithymocyte globulin (ATG; n 5 491) following reduced-intensity conditioning regimens. Haploidentical recipients received posttransplant cyclophosphamide-based graft-versushost disease (GVHD) prophylaxis, whereas URD recipients received calcineurin inhibitorbased prophylaxis. Median follow-up of survivors was 3 years. The 100-day cumulative incidence of grade III-IV acute GVHD on univariate analysis was 8%, 12%, and 17% in the haploidentical, URD without ATG, and URD with ATG groups, respectively (P 5 .44).Corresponding 1-year rates of chronic GVHD on univariate analysis were 13%, 51%, and 33%, respectively (P < .001). On multivariate analysis, grade III-IV acute GVHD was higher in URD without ATG (P 5 .001), as well as URD with ATG (P 5 .01), relative to haploidentical transplants. Similarly, relative to haploidentical transplants, risk of chronic GVHD was higher in URD without ATG and URD with ATG (P < .0001). Cumulative incidence of relapse/ progression at 3 years was 36%, 28%, and 36% in the haploidentical, URD without ATG, and URD with ATG groups, respectively (P 5 .07). Corresponding 3-year overall survival (OS) was 60%, 62%, and 50% in the 3 groups, respectively, with multivariate analysis showing no survival difference between URD without ATG (P 5 .21) or URD with ATG (P 5 .16), relative to haploidentical transplants. Multivariate analysis showed no difference between the 3 groups in terms of nonrelapse mortality (NRM), relapse/progression, and progression-free survival (PFS). These data suggest that reduced-intensity conditioning haploidentical transplantation with posttransplant cyclophosphamide does not compromise early survival outcomes compared with matched URD transplantation, and is associated with significantly reduced risk of chronic GVHD. (Blood. 2016;127(7):938-947)

Background Gram-negative bacteremia (GNB) is a major cause of illness and death after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and updated epidemiological investigation is advisable. Methods We prospectively evaluated the epidemiology of pre-engraftment GNB in 1118 allogeneic HSCTs (allo-HSCTs) and 1625 autologous HSCTs (auto-HSCTs) among 54 transplant centers during 2014 (SIGNB-GITMO-AMCLI study). Using logistic regression methods. we identified risk factors for GNB and evaluated the impact of GNB on the 4-month overall-survival after transplant. Results The cumulative incidence of pre-engraftment GNB was 17.3% in allo-HSCT and 9% in auto-HSCT. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common isolates. By multivariate analysis, variables associated with GNB were a diagnosis of acute leukemia, a transplant from a HLA-mismatched donor and from cord blood, older age, and duration of severe neutropenia in allo-HSCT, and a diagnosis of lymphoma, older age, and no antibacterial prophylaxis in auto-HSCT. A pretransplant infection by a resistant pathogen was significantly associated with an increased risk of posttransplant infection by the same microorganism in allo-HSCT. Colonization by resistant gram-negative bacteria was significantly associated with an increased rate of infection by the same pathogen in both transplant procedures. GNB was independently associated with increased mortality at 4 months both in allo-HSCT (hazard ratio, 2.13; 95% confidence interval, 1.45–3.13; P <.001) and auto-HSCT (2.43; 1.22–4.84; P = .01). Conclusions Pre-engraftment GNB is an independent factor associated with increased mortality rate at 4 months after auto-HSCT and allo-HSCT. Previous infectious history and colonization monitoring represent major indicators of GNB. Clinical Trials registration NCT02088840.

Tisagenlecleucel (tisa‐cel) is a second‐generation autologous CD19‐targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T‐cell therapy approved for relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B‐cell lymphoma (LBCL). The approval was based on the results of phase II JULIET trial, with a best overall response rate (ORR) and complete response (CR) rate in infused patients of 52% and 40%, respectively. We report outcomes with tisa‐cel in the standard‐of‐care (SOC) setting for R/R LBCL. Data from all patients with R/R LBCL who underwent leukapheresis from December 2018 until June 2020 with the intent to receive SOC tisa‐cel were retrospectively collected at 10 Spanish institutions. Toxicities were graded according to ASTCT criteria and responses were assessed as per Lugano 2014 classification. Of 91 patients who underwent leukapheresis, 75 (82%) received tisa‐cel therapy. Grade 3 or higher cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity occurred in 5% and 1%, respectively; non‐relapse mortality was 4%. Among the infused patients, best ORR and CR were 60% and 32%, respectively, with a median duration of response of 8.9 months. With a median follow‐up of 14.1 months from CAR T‐cell infusion, median progression‐free survival and overall survival were 3 months and 10.7 months, respectively. At 12 months, patients in CR at first disease evaluation had a PFS of 87% and OS of 93%. Patients with an elevated lactate dehydrogenase showed a shorter PFS and OS on multivariate analysis. Treatment with tisa‐cel for patients with relapsed/refractory LBCL in a European SOC setting showed a manageable safety profile and durable complete responses.

Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and tisagenlecleucel (tisa-cel) are CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells approved for relapsed/refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). We performed a retrospective study to evaluate safety and efficacy of axi-cel and tisa-cel outside the setting of a clinical trial. Data from consecutive patients with R/R LBCL who underwent apheresis for axi-cel or tisa-cel were retrospectively collected from 12 Spanish centers. A total of 307 patients underwent apheresis for axi-cel (n=152) and tisa-cel (n=155) from Nov-2018 to Aug-2021, of which 261 (85%) received a CAR-T infusion (88% and 82%, respectively). Median time from apheresis to infusion was 41 days for axi-cel and 52 days for tisa-cel (p=0.006). None of the baseline characteristics were significantly different between both cohorts. Both cytokine release syndrome and neurologic events (NE) were more frequent in the axi-cel group (88% vs 73%, p=0.003, and 42% vs 16%, p