title: Allogeneic stem cell transplantation with BEAM and alemtuzumab conditioning immediately after remission induction has curative potential in advanced T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
abstract: Patients with relapsed or refractory advanced T cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma have a dismal prognosis and may not even reach allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in adequate condition. We present the outcome of 24 consecutive patients (age range 11 to 65 years) treated at a single institution in Kiel within a recent 5.5-year time frame with allogeneic HSCT in a rather uniform approach. Relapsed and refractory T and natural killer cell lymphomas of various subtypes were included. All patients except 1 were in progression or relapse before start of pretransplantation salvage therapy. Five patients had relapsed after autologous HSCT. With intensive remission induction therapy, usually the CLAEG (cladribine, cytosine arabinoside, and etoposide with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor support) protocol, attempts were made to improve disease control and proceed immediately to conditioning with carmustine, etoposide, cytosine arabinoside, melphalan (BEAM), and medium-dose alemtuzumab. Twenty of 21 patients who received CLAEG induction therapy benefited from this protocol and 1 patient appeared to be therapy-resistant. At the time of allogeneic HSCT, 9 patients were in complete remission (CR) (2 in CR1, 5 in CR2, and 2 in CR >2), whereas 50% had never achieved CR. Nineteen transplants were obtained from matched or partially matched unrelated donors and only 5 from siblings. With a median follow-up of 321 days (1252 days for surviving patients), 20 of 22 assessable patients reached CR. Five of these patients had hematologic or molecular relapse. With donor lymphocyte infusions, 1 patient became minimal residual disease MRD negative again and has maintained CR for more than 4 years. The frequency of grades II to IV acute graft-versus-host disease was 25% and chronic graft-versus-host disease, 30%. Intense reinduction therapy followed by reduced-intensity BEAM-alemtuzumab conditioning and allogeneic HSCT is effective and offers curative potential for patients with advanced T cell lymphomas, even for those not in remission.
authors.affiliation: Division of Stem Cell Transplantation and Immunotherapy, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Czajczynska
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Günther
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Repp
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Humpe
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schub
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raff
authors.forename: Maike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nickelsen
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schrauder
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schrappe
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kneba
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gramatzki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000074323:Alemtuzumab; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002330:Carmustine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002648:Child; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D016399:Lymphoma, T-Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008558:Melphalan / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D018183:Transplantation Chimera; D019172:Transplantation Conditioning / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
chemical_list: D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D003561:Cytarabine; D000074323:Alemtuzumab; D005047:Etoposide; D008558:Melphalan; D002330:Carmustine
keywords: Advanced T cell NHL; Alemtuzumab; Allogeneic stem cell transplantation; BEAM; Reduced-intensity conditioning