A Case Series of Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide in Unrelated Donor Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Aplastic Anemia

Patients with severe aplastic anemia aplastic anemia: (ay-PLASS-tik uh-NEE_mee-uh) A rare and serious condition in which the bone marrow fails to make enough blood cells - red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The term aplastic is a Greek word meaning not to form. Anemia is a condition that happens when red blood cell count is low. Most… (SAA) who fail immunosuppressive therapy immunosuppressive therapy: Immunosuppressive drug therapy lowers your body's immune response. This prevents your immune system from attacking your bone marrow, allowing bone marrow stem cells to grow, which raises blood counts. For older patients with acquired aplastic anemia, immunosuppressive drug therapy is the… have a dismal prognosis. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from an unrelated donor unrelated donor: A donor that is not a sibling or other familial relation of the patient (recipient). (URD) is one of the most effective treatment options. Two institutions have independently adopted a post-transplantation cyclophosphamide cyclophosphamide: Cyclophosphamide is in a class of medications called alkylating agents. When used to treat cancer, it works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancer cells in your body. When cyclophosphamide is used to treat bone marrow failure, it works by suppressing your body's immune system. (PTCy) approach for patients with SAA undergoing HSCT from a URD. Thirteen patients were included, 11 of whom had been treated with immunosuppressive therapy. Eight patients had a mismatched URD. All patients were conditioned with fludarabine fludarabine: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved fludarabine for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CCL). Researchers are studying fludarabine in combination with other medicines for treating bone marrow failure. , cyclophosphamide, and total body irradiation, in various dosage combinations. PTCy was given at a dose of 100 mg/kg. Two patients died, and overall survival was 85% at 2 years. All patients engrafted, but 1 patient developed secondary graft failure. Of the 11 patients alive after 2 years, 9 had complete donor chimerism. All surviving patients were transfusion-independent. Ten patients (77%) had cytomegalovirus reactivation, and 2 patients had more than 1 reactivation. No Epstein-Barr virus reactivation or post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease was observed. Four patients had mild hemorrhagic cystitis. In summary, our findings show that PTCy is a promising treatment for patients with SAA undergoing URD HSCT.