Neurological complications of the central nervous system after allogeneic stem cell transplantation: the role of TA –TMA as a potential underreported cause.
Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is a potentially curative treatment for patients with high-risk hematological malignancies. The outcome of allo-HSCT is influenced by transplant-related mortality (TRM), which accounts for at least 20% of the overall mortality 3 years after transplantation 1,2. The introduction of less toxic conditioning regimens and the improvement in supportive care permitted the extension of allo-HSCT also to fragile elderly recipients, who are more prone to develop post-transplant complications 3,4. (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 18, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Elisa Sala, Adela M Neagoie, Jan Lewerenz, Maral Saadati, Axel Benner, Andrea Gantner, Verena Wais, Hartmut D öhner, Donald Bunjes Source Type: research

National Survey of FACT-Accredited Cell Processing Facilities: Assessing Preparedness for Local Manufacturing of Immune Effector Cells
Immune effector cells (IECs) offer a new approach to address unmet medical needs, including malignancies, autoimmune diseases, and opportunistic infections.1,2 This family of biologics, also known as cellular immunotherapies, includes chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and genetically modified T cell receptors (TCRs).3 Currently, six CAR T products have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various hematological malignancies. (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 15, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Magdi Elsallab, Florence Bourgeois, Marcela V. Maus Source Type: research

Bendamustine as lymphodepletion for brexucabtagene autoleucel therapy of mantle cell lymphoma
Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a typically incurable, often aggressive mature B-cell neoplasm. Brexucabtagene autoleucel (brexu-cel) is approved for treatment of relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) based on the ZUMA-2 trial.1 The standard chemotherapy regimen used for lymphodepletion (LD) pre-brexu-cel is cyclophosphamide 500mg/m2 and fludarabine 30mg/m2 (cy/flu) on the fifth, fourth, and third days prior to brexu-cel. Due to a recent fludarabine shortage as well as institutional practice, we employed alternatives to fludarabine-based LD chemotherapy, in particular bendamustine. (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 15, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Elise A. Chong, Emeline R. Chong, Dylan Therwhangher, Sunita D. Nasta, Daniel J. Landsburg, Stefan K. Barta, Jakub Svoboda, James N. Gerson, Guido Ghilardi, Luca Paruzzo, Joseph A. Fraietta, Elizabeth Weber, Natalie Stefano, David L. Porter, Noelle V. Fre Source Type: research

Long Term Follow-Up Of Abatacept, Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide and Sirolimus (AbaCyS) based Haploidentical Transplantation in Younger Patients with Nonmalignant Diseases
Haploidentical (Haplo) HCT for nonmalignant diseases (NMD) faces inherent challenges of both alloreactivity and graft failure. Building upon promising results from pilot studies, where abatacept was combined with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) and sirolimus (AbaCyS) in younger NMD patients undergoing haplo-HCT, we present the long-term outcomes of this protocol. (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 13, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Sarita Rani Jaiswal, Mahak Agarwal, Gitali Bhagawati, Bhudev Chandra Das, Prakash Baligar, Manoj Garg, Subhrajit Biswas, Suparno Chakrabarti Source Type: research

Treatment Sensitive and Treatment Dependent Chronic GVHD Yield Superior Failure Free and Overall Survival Compared to Treatment Resistant Chronic GVHD
Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a limitation to the long-term success of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). cGVHD is most often treated with immunosuppressive therapy (IST) to modulate the immune response, control symptoms, and prevent further organ damage1. Response to corticosteroids and other treatments can yield extended survival and be associated with malignant disease control through the graft-versus-tumor effect, however treatment resistant (TR) cGVHD is associated with a high risk of morbidity, non-relapse mortality and poor overall survival2. (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 11, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Najla El Jurdi, Shannon Herzog, Ryan Shanley, Shernan G Holtan, Margaret L MacMillan, Daniel J Weisdorf Source Type: research

Pre-transplant blinatumomab improves outcomes in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who undergo allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common cancer in children.1 It carries an excellent prognosis with 5-year overall survival (OS) rates of up to 90%.2 Pediatric-inspired intensive regimens are also used to treat adolescents and young adults age 15 –39 (AYA), with an estimated 3-year OS in this group of 73%.3 (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 8, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Ayman Sayyed, Carol Chen, Armin Gerbitz, Dennis Dong Hwan Kim, Rajat Kumar, Wilson Lam, Arjun Datt Law, Jeffrey H. Lipton, Fotios V. Michelis, Igor Novitzky-Basso, Auro Viswabandya, Jonas Mattsson, Ivan Pasic Source Type: research

Review of Life Blood, by David Marks
Life Blood, by recently retired Dr David Marks, showcases a series of stories about leukemia patients battling their illness, as told by their doctor. This short book allows readers to appreciate the experiences of both the patients and their caregivers, as well as to empathize with their joys and disappointments. Readers also will come to realize the stresses, disappointments, and rewards of this physician's job, a profession that certainly is never boring. (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 7, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Hillard M. Lazarus Tags: Report Source Type: research

Nutritional strategies to improve VRE control
Emergence of Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) strains is growing among cellular therapies recipients, and is associated with morbidity, mortality and increase of hospitalization costs: bloodstream infections are more frequent in colonized transplanted patients with a reduced expected survival1. Strategies to preventing VRE spread are hand hygiene, active surveillance, isolation and contact precautions for VRE colonized/infected patients and antimicrobial stewardship2. While the scientific evidence supporting policies for preventing the spread of VRE is clear, few studies evaluate their biology, interactions with othe...
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 7, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Enrico Morello, Sara Roversi, Giulia Brambilla, Liana Signorini, Marianna Lorenzoni, Marco Andreoli, Simona Bernardi, Michele Malagola, Mirko Farina, Vera Radici, Gabriele Magliano, Simona Fiorentini, Arnaldo Caruso, Domenico Russo Source Type: research

Phase II Study of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Children with High-Risk Neuroblastoma Using a Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Regimen: Results from the AIEOP trial
Neuroblastoma (NB) represents the most frequent extra-cranial pediatric tumor and the most common solid tumor in children aged less than 5 years1. Patients with high-risk (HR) disease, most of which have metastatic disease at presentation, are particularly challenging2 –5. Current multimodal protocols for HR NB include multiagent chemotherapy, surgical resection of the primary site, autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HCT), and radiotherapy6. In a large retrospective study by the Children's Oncology Group, HR NB patients exhibited a 5-year e vent-free survival rate of 50.8%7. (Source: Biology of Bloo...
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 7, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Arcangelo Prete, Edoardo Lanino, Francesco Saglio, Alessandra Biffi, Elisabetta Calore, Maura Faraci, Roberto Rondelli, Claudio Favre, Marco Zecca, Gabriella Casazza, Fulvio Porta, Roberto Luksch, Simone Cesaro, Marco Rabusin, Rosanna Parasole, Rosa Maria Source Type: research

Increased PD-1 expression on circulating T-cells correlates with inferior outcome after autologous stem cell transplantation
Autologous stem cell transplantation (auto-SCT) is a well-established treatment option for patients with lymphoma or multiple myeloma (MM). It involves high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) followed by the infusion of the patient's own hematopoietic stem cells. This procedure has been shown to induce long-term progression-free survival (PFS) and, in some cases, even cure aggressive lymphomas. While the efficacy of auto-SCT has traditionally been attributed to the toxic effects of HDCT, recent research suggests that the pace and quality of immunologic post-auto-SCT reconstitution may play a crucial role in determining treatment res...
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 6, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Silja Richter, Martin B öttcher, Andrej Stoll, Vanja Zeremski, Simon Völkl, Andreas Mackensen, Arif B. Ekici, Benedikt Jacobs, Dimitrios Mougiakakos Source Type: research

Early CAR-T Cells expansion is associated with prolonged PFS for patients with RRMM treated with ide-cel: a retrospective monocentric study.
The outcome of patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) previously treated with the three main classes of myeloma therapy [immunomodulatory drugs (Imids), proteasome inhibitors (PI), and anti-CD38 antibodies (anti-CD38)] remains poor. However, in the KarMMa trial1, the use of idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel), an autologous B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T) showed improved response with prolonged overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) among heavily treated patients. (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 6, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Leo Caillot, Emmanuel Sleiman, Ingrid Lafon, Marie-Lorraine Chretien, Pauline Gueneau, Alexandre Payssot, Romain Pedri, Daniela Lakomy, Fran çois Bailly, Julien Guy, Jean-Pierre Quenot, Hervé Avet-Loiseau, Denis Caillot Source Type: research

Gut immunomodulation with vedolizumab prior to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in pediatric patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) manifestations can be seen in patients with Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) that are increasingly being treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The control of gut inflammation before transplant is difficult but essential. There is always a concern that peri-transplant intestinal inflammation is a greater risk of intestinal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 6, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Yogi Chopra, Karol Acevedo, Aleixo Muise, Karen Frost, Tal Schechter, Joerg Krueger, Muhammad Ali, Kuang-Yueh Chiang, VY Kim, Eyal Grunebaum, Donna Wall Source Type: research

Defining and Grading Infections in Clinical Trials Involving Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Report from the BMT CTN Infectious Disease Technical Committee
Hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) can cure several hematologic malignancies and bone marrow failure syndromes, but the associated immunodeficiency and delayed immune reconstitution cause infectious complications. The risk of infection, type of pathogen, and timing depend on several factors, including, but not limited to, the type of HCT, choice of donor, degree of immune suppression, and development of graft versus host disease (GVHD) [1,2]. Infectious complications in the immunocompromised host can cause significant morbidity and mortality and pose serious threats to HCT recipients [3 –7]. (Source: Biology of Blood an...
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 6, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Zainab Shahid, Aaron M. Etra, John E. Levine, Marcie L. Riches, Aliyah Baluch, Joshua A. Hill, Ryo Nakamura, Amir A. Toor, Celalettin Ustun, Jo-Anne H. Young, Miguel-Angel Perales, David J. Epstein, Hemant S. Murthy Source Type: research

Long-Term Clinical Outcomes and B Cell Immune Reconstitution following Allo-HCT with Prophylactic, Post-Transplant Rituximab
Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Post-transplant, prophylactic rituximab has successfully decreased cGHVD rates in clinical trials, but the durability of this strategy is uncertain. The long-terms effect of post-HCT B cell depletion on immune reconstitution, B cell function, and infectious complications are also unknown. (Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation)
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 5, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Vanessa E Kennedy, Bita Sahaf, Fang Wu, Zachary J. Ehlinger, Sally Arai, David B Miklos Source Type: research

Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation for Fanconi Anemia with a special focus on late complications: a Study on Behalf of Eurocord and SAAWP-EBMT
Fanconi anemia (FA) is an inherited bone marrow failure syndrome characterized by a broad spectrum of morphological malformations, progressive trilineage cytopenia, multisystem defects and increased predisposition to hematological malignancies and solid tumors [1 –3]. The Fanconi core complex and its associated protein complexes are required to ensure timely DNA repair. The risk for these major events is age dependent. Approximately 75% of FA patients have birth defects. Severe bone marrow failure (BMF) develops in 70% of patients by the age of 50 years, t ypically peaking during childhood at a median age of 7 years. (So...
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - March 4, 2024 Category: Hematology Authors: Hanadi Rafii, Fernanda Volt, Marc Bierings, Jean-Hugues Dalle, Mouhab Ayas, Rawad Rihani, Maura Faraci, Giuseppina de Simone, Henrik Sengeloev, Jakob Passweg, Marina Cavazzana, Regis Costello, Johan Maertens, Alessandra Biffi, Jan-Erik Johansson, Juan Mon Source Type: research