Certain patients with acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) tend to have excellent prognosis after CD34+ cell-selected allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), according to an analysis involving 276 individuals. However, both late relapse and non-relapse mortality continue to be problematic. Participants had acute myeloid leukemia (n=164), MDS (n=79), or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n=33). Investigators looked at outcomes in those who were still alive and without relapse 1 year post-transplant. Among the results:

• At 5 years (6-years after transplant), relapse-free survival rate was 73%; overall survival rate was 76%.
• Cumulative relapse and non-relapse mortality rates were 11% and 16%, respectively.
• Patients with HCT-comorbidity index score ≥3 were 78% more likely to experience worse relapse-free survival.
• They were >twice as likely to experience worse overall survival.
• ~One-fourth of patients experienced acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) within 1 year (2 years post-transplant), which corresponded with worse relapse-free and overall survival.
• ~One fourth of the 63 deaths that occurred after the 1-year mark were due to GVHD.