Outcome after HSCT in Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Sweden: a population-based study

Even in the tyrosine kinase inhibitor era, allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is regarded as standard care for adult Philadelphia (Ph) positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In this retrospective national study, we have reviewed the outcome after HSCT in Sweden for adult Ph-positive ALL between 2000 and 2009. In total, 51 patients with median age 42 (range 20–66) years underwent HSCT. Mainly allogeneic HSCT was performed (24 related donor, 24 unrelated donor and one cord blood), and only two patients were treated with an autologous HSCT. The 5-year OS was 51 (37–64) %. The probabilities of morphological relapse and non-relapse mortality (NRM) at 5 years were 36 (23–49) and 18 (9–29) %, respectively. For the allogeneic transplanted, the 5-year OS was for patients <40 years 70 (50–90) % and for patients ≥40 years 34 (16–52) %, p = 0.002. The 5-year probability of NRM was for patients <40 years 10 (2–28) % compared to 25 (11–42) % for patients ≥40 years (p = 0.04). Patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) had a 5-year morphological relapse probability of 20 (6–40) % compared to 59 (35–77) % for patients without chronic GVHD (p = 0.03). Age ≥40 years and the absence of chronic GVHD were confirmed as independent negative prognostic factors for relapse and non-relapse mortality in a multivariate analysis although the impact of chronic GVHD was significant only in the older age cohort.