Autologous and allogeneic stem-cell transplantation for transformed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (Richter's syndrome): A retrospective analysis from the chronic lymphocytic leukemia subcommittee of the chronic leukemia working party and lymphoma working party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Abstract

Purpose: Patients with Richter's syndrome (RS) have a poor prognosis with conventional chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome after autologous stem-cell transplantation (autoSCT) or allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (alloSCT) in RS.

Patients and methods: A survey was sent to all European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation centers assessing transplantations performed for RS. Eligibility criteria included a diagnosis of RS or secondary lymphoma before SCT, age ≥ 18 years, and SCT performed from 1997 to 2007. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and methods from survival analysis.

Results: Fifty-nine patients were registered. Thirty-four patients had received autoSCT, mostly because of chemotherapy-sensitive disease, and 25 had received alloSCT, with 36% being refractory to chemotherapy at SCT. In 18 allograft recipients (72%), reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) was used. Three-year estimates of the probabilities of overall survival and relapse-free survival (RFS) and the cumulative incidences of relapse and nonrelapse mortality were 36%, 27%, 47%, and 26% for alloSCT and 59%, 45%, 43%, and 12% for autoSCT, respectively. Taking into account the limitations set by the low number of events and age younger than 60 years, chemotherapy-sensitive disease and RIC were found to be associated with superior RFS after alloSCT in multivariate analysis. Factors with a significant impact on autoSCT could not be identified.

Conclusion: Patients with RS who are sensitive to induction chemotherapy appear to benefit from consolidation with transplantation strategies, and prolonged survival was observed in a proportion of patients.