Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Transformed Follicular Lymphoma (tFL): Results of a...

Transformation of follicular lymphoma into an aggressive lymphoma (tFL) worsens the prognosis and the standard treatment is not completely defined. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) could be a potentially curative option for these patients, but it has not been widely explored.

We designed a retrospective multicenter study to analyze the efficacy and toxicity of alloSCT in tFL patients and potential prognostic factors of survival.

A total of 43 patients diagnosed with tFL who underwent alloSCT in 14 Spanish centers between January 2000 and January 2019 were included. Median age was 44 (31-67) years. After a median follow-up of 58 months, estimated 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were both 35%. Estimated 100-day and 1-year non-relapse mortality (NRM) were 20% and 34%, respectively. The type of conditioning regimen (3-year OS of 52% vs. 20%, respectively, for reduced-intensity vs. myeloablative conditioning) and development of chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) (3-year OS of 75% vs. 40%) were the only factors significantly associated with OS. The only variable with an independent association with OS was cGVHD (HR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.2-9.6).

Our results indicate that alloSCT continues to be a potentially curative option for patients with tFL.