title: Cytomegalovirus reactivation after autologous stem cell transplantation in myeloma and lymphoma patients: A single-center study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the incidence of and the risk factors for cytomegalovirus (CMV) symptomatic infection and end-organ disease after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 327 consecutive non CD34(+) selected autografts performed from the Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit of Regina Elena National Cancer Institute of Rome (Italy) in the period comprised between January 2003 to January 2015, were reviewed. Over the 327 autografts, 201 were performed in patients with multiple myeloma, whereas the remaining 126 in patients affected by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma. The patients who underwent an ASCT for an acute leukemia (n = 20) in the same period were excluded from this analysis. CMV DNA load in the blood has been determined by polymerase-chain reaction in the case of a clinical suspicion of reactivation, therefore, no routine monitoring strategy was adopted. In the presence of signs and symptoms of CMV reactivation an antiviral treatment was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 36 patients (11%) required a specific antiviral treatment for a symptomatic CMV reactivation (n = 32) or an end-organ disease (n = 4). We observed 20 and 16 cases of CMV reactivation among lymphoma (16%) and myeloma patients (8%), respectively. Among cases of end-organ disease, 3 were diagnosed as interstitial pneumonia and one remaining case as hemorrhagic enteritis. All cases of CMV reactivation were observed in IgG seropositive patients, with no documented cases of primary CMV infection. All patients were treated with a specific antiviral therapy, with a global rate of hospitalization of 55%; four patients received intravenous immunoglobulins. Transplant-related mortality was significantly higher in patients who experienced a CMV reactivation (8.4% ± 4.7% vs 1.7% ± 0.8%; P = 0.047). In univariate analysis, a pre-transplant HBcIgG seropositivity, a diagnosis of T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and higher median age at transplant were significantly associated with the risk of developing a clinically relevant CMV infection requiring specific antiviral therapy (P < 0.001, P = 0.042 and P = 0.004, respectively). In multivariate analysis, only a pre-transplant HBcIgG seropositivity (OR = 8.928, 95%CI: 1.991-33.321; P = 0.023) and a diagnosis of T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (OR = 4.739, 95%CI: 1.511-11.112; P = 0.042) proved to be independent predictors of a post-transplant clinically relevant CMV reactivation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A symptomatic CMV infection can occur in about 11% of adult patients with lymphoma or myeloma undergoing ASCT. A pre-transplant HBcIgG seropositivity and a diagnosis of T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma should be considered as independent predictor factors of CMV reactivation.
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marchesi
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fulvia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pimpinelli
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Svitlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gumenyuk
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Renzi
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Palombi
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pisani
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Atelda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spadea
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Papa
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canfora
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ensoli
authors.affiliation: Francesco Marchesi, Svitlana Gumenyuk, Daniela Renzi, Francesca Palombi, Francesco Pisani, Atelda Romano, Antonio Spadea, Elena Papa, Andrea Mengarelli, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation Unit, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, 00144 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mengarelli
keywords: Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Cytomegalovirus; HBcIgG seropositivity; Lymphoma; Myeloma; Transplant-related mortality