title: Pretransplant metabolic distress predicts relapse of acute myeloid leukemia after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The impact of nutritional status on outcome of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) is controversial. This study investigates the influence of pretransplant weight loss and serologic indicators of nutritional homeostasis on relapse and death of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after alloSCT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pretransplant weight loss along with serum levels of total serum protein (TSP), albumin, C-reactive protein, and leptin were collected retrospectively in a training cohort (n = 149) and correlated with clinical outcome. Metabolic risk groups were defined and tested in an independent validation cohort (n = 167).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified pretransplant weight loss and TSP as strong independent predictors of relapse and death. Patients in the metabolic high-risk group (low TSP and weight loss) had an increased risk for relapse (P = 0.0002) and death (P = 0.002), but a similar risk for acute graft-versus-host disease. Weight loss coincided with reduced pretransplant serum leptin levels. The adverse influence of weight loss and high metabolic risk on relapse and overall survival could be confirmed in the validation cohort and similarly in patients with less than or more than 5% blasts before alloSCT. Multivariate analysis of both cohorts revealed a hazard ratio for relapse of 7.78 (2.59-23.36, P = 0.0003) in the metabolic high risk group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Altered nutritional homeostasis before alloSCT correlates with recurrence of AML after transplantation. Studies addressing pretransplant nutritional interventions to reduce AML relapse rates are warranted.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Internal Medicine V, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. 2 Department of Internal Medicine I, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Technical University Dresden, Germany. 3 Institute of Transplant Immunology, IFB-Tx, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany. 4 Division of Biostatistics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radujkovic
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stölzel
authors.forename: Christine S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Falk
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benner
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schaich
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bornhäuser
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ehninger
authors.forename: Alwin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krämer
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hegenbart
authors.forename: Anthony D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dreger
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Luft
mesh_terms: D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D015992:Body Mass Index; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D015431:Weight Loss
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D020738:Leptin