Prognostic utility of routine chimerism testing at 2 to 6 months after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation

The utility of routine chimerism analysis as a prognostic indicator of subsequent outcomes after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) with myeloablative conditioning regimens remains controversial. To address this controversy, routine chimerism test results at 2 to 6 months after HCT with myeloablative conditioning regimens were evaluated for association with subsequent risk of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), nonrelapse mortality (NRM), relapse, and overall mortality. Only 70 of 1304 patients (5%) had < 95% donor-derived cells in the marrow. Low donor chimerism in the marrow occurred more often in patients with low-risk diseases compared with those with higher-risk diseases and was significantly associated with a reduced risk of chronic GVHD. Among 673 patients evaluated, 164 (24%) had < 85% donor-derived T cells in the blood. Low donor T cell chimerism was more frequent in patients with low-risk diseases compared with those with higher-risk diseases, in those who received conditioning with busulfan compared with those who received conditioning with total body irradiation, and in those with lower-grade acute GVHD. Low donor T cell chimerism in the blood was significantly associated with a reduced risk of chronic GVHD but not with a reduced risk of relapse, NRM, or overall mortality. Routine testing of chimerism in the marrow and blood at 2 to 6 months after HCT with myeloablative conditioning regimens may be helpful in documenting engraftment in clinical trials, but provides only limited prognostic information in clinical practice.