Omission of day 11 methotrexate does not appear to influence the incidence of moderate to severe acute graft-versus-host disease, chronic graft-versus-host disease, relapse rate or survival after HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplantation.
Sixty-five patients with haematological malignancy received high-dose chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy followed by a T replete, HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplant. All were scheduled to receive a standard cyclosporine/methotrexate immune suppressive regimen to minimise the risk of graft-versus-host disease post-transplant. Forty-six patients received all four scheduled doses of methotrexate, while in nineteen the day 11 dose was omitted due to marked oropharyngeal mucositis or febrile neutropenia. There was a slight increase in the incidence of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) grades I-IV in those not receiving compared to those receiving day 11 methotrexate (84 vs 71% (P = 0.04)). However, there was no difference in the incidence of acute GVHD grades II-IV (14 vs 22%), in the incidence of chronic GVHD (38 vs 47%), in transplant-related mortality (21 vs 24%), in relapse rate (42 vs 51%), in 4-year survival (38 vs 48%), or in disease-free survival (38 vs 42%). These findings suggest that the day 11 methotrexate dose could be omitted without a major deleterious effect on the outcome of HLA-identical sibling marrow transplantation.
Atkinson
K
K
Department of Haematology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Downs
K
K
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D016019:Survival Analysis
D006680:HLA Antigens; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D008727:Methotrexate