Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is a treatment option for relapsed anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) in children, but reports on its efficacy in this disease are still limited. We analyzed data concerning 34 patients under 18 years of age prospectively registered in the French SFGM-TC database, who had undergone an allo-SCT for the treatment of ALK+ ALCL between 1993 and 2011. At transplant, 28 patients (82.4%) were in CR, whereas 6 exhibited detectable disease. Conditioning regimens were mostly myelo-ablative (n = 31). With a median follow-up of 6 years, 5-year overall and event-free survival rates were 70% (SE = 8%) and 58% (SE = 9%), respectively. The 5-year cumulative incidence of relapse and treatment-related mortality was 18% (SE = 7%) and 24% (SE = 8%), respectively. Six patients had relapsed (median time, 141 days (35-235)). A durable CR had been obtained in 4/6 patients after injection of donor lymphocytes (n = 1) or vinblastine-corticosteroid therapy (n = 3). Ten patients had died, eight due to transplant toxicity and two due to progressive disease. Allo-SCT is an efficient treatment for pediatric patients with high-risk relapsed ALK+ ALCL. However, the overall morbidity of allo-SCT raises questions about its place, given the efficacy of targeted agents currently under development in this disease. 1 Treatments based on multiagent chemotherapy over a short period (o 6 months) are successful in most patients.
Bone Marrow Transplantation2 However, relapses occur in 25-30% of cases, mostly within 6 months after treatment.3 CR can once again be achieved at relapse in most patients with a wide variety of chemotherapy regimens. Thus, the 2-year overall survival rate in children treated for an ALCL exceeds 85% in the most recent reports and has attained 94% in the ALCL99 international trial.2 In most patients, the treatment strategy for relapse comprises autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) after a CR. The feasibility and efficacy of allo-SCT with good engraftment, acceptable toxicity and event-free survival rate ranging from 45 to 75% has been demonstrated in small series and case reports published so far.