Post-remission strategies for the prevention of relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for high-risk acute myeloid leukemia: expert review from the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Abstract

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematopoietic malignancy generally associated with poor prognosis. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) continues to be the most potent anti-leukemia treatment for adult patients with intermediate and high-risk AML. However, disease relapse after alloHCT remains unacceptably high and is the primary cause of treatment failure and mortality following alloHCT. It is therefore that post-transplant early cellular or pharmacologic maintenance or preemptive strategies to enhance the graft-versus-leukemia effect or to eradicate persistent minimal residual disease have been of renewed interest, particularly with the availability of more sensitive technologies to measure residual AML. Although preliminary studies have demonstrated improved outcomes with the use of post-alloHCT remission therapies, prospective randomized trials are required to determine their clinical efficacy and role in the treatment of AML. On behalf of the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, we summarize the available evidence on the use and efficacy of available pharmacologic post-remission therapies, including hypomethylating agents, deacetylase inhibitors, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors, as well as cellular therapies, including preemptive and prophylactic donor lymphocyte infusions for the prevention of relapse of AML.