Microtransplantation improves the outcome of older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia: a single-centre study with long-term follow-up

Abstract

This retrospective single-centre study was to validate the efficacy and safety of microtransplantation in the treatment of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Microtransplantation combines chemotherapy and human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched peripheral blood stem cell infusion without graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. Totally, 26 newly diagnosed AML patients who received microtransplantation therapy were enrolled in our study from April 2008 to April 2018. The deadline date of follow-up was December 31, 2019. Patients were divided into 2 age groups: 60 ~ 70 years (n = 17) and > 70 years (n = 9). The study analyzed the data of complete remission (CR) rate, overall survival (OS), leukemia free survival (LFS), hematopoietic recovery time, and treatment related toxicities. 10 patients were still alive with complete remission (CR) on the deadline date, and the median overall survival (OS) was 64 months. The CR, relapse and nonrelapse mortality rates were 84.6%, 38.5% and 30%, respectively. Both OS (p < 0.0001) and leukaemia free survival (LFS) (p < 0.0001) were significantly higher in the younger group than in the older group. The median times of neutrophil and platelet recovery were 12 days and 14 days, respectively. These data showed that MST could be an alternative treatment for older AML patients.