Study questions when to transplant early-stage blood cancer patients
Researchers analyzed 1,145 myelodysplastic syndrome patients across Europe to determine which should undergo stem cell transplants early. The findings challenge current clinical guidelines and could reshape treatment protocols, potentially affecting treatment decisions for thousands of patients annually and influencing how healthcare systems allocate expensive transplant resources.
Originaltitel: Clinical outcomes of patients with lower risk myelodysplastic syndrome from <scp>EUMDS</scp> registry eligible for transplantation: Implications for transplantation strategies
Selecting eligible allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) candidates with low-risk and intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) remains controversial. The International Working Group (IWG) for MDS prognosis identified a Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) score >3.5 for benefits from early transplantation; the MDS-RIGHT group uses a broader set of poor risk features. We analysed 1145 lower risk MDS (lower risk and intermediate-risk IPSS-R) patients aged <75 years, using real-world European Myelodysplastic Syndromes registry data and identifying those meeting IWG or MDS-RIGHT criteria for allo-HSCT at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Fit patients were characterised by Karnofsky score ≥70 and Haematopoietic Cell Transplantation-specific Comorbidity Index <3. We evaluated clinical outcomes of transplant candidates, including survival, disease progression risk, new comorbidity risk and performance status decline. The IWG criterion, and not MDS-RIGHT criteria, identified patients with lower risk and intermediate-risk MDS with poorer baseline survival. Fit lower risk patients showed 2-year cumulative risks of incident comorbidity and performance status deterioration of 20% and 5% respectively. In summary, IWG and MDS-RIGHT features identify patients with lower or intermediate-risk MDS as candidates for early transplantation. Lower risk patients fit for transplantation have a cumulative incidence of adverse outcomes possibly jeopardising transplantation eligibility and should be carefully selected when planning delayed transplantation strategies.