The Association Between Institutional Case Volume of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Mortality

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a complex, high-risk procedure with significant morbidity and mortality. The positive impact of higher institutional case volume on survival has been reported in various high-risk procedures. The association between annual institutional HSCT case volume and mortality was analyzed using the National Health Insurance Service database.

Data on 16,213 HSCTs performed in 46 Korean centers between 2007 and 2018 were extracted. Centers were divided into low- or high-volume centers using an average of 25 annual cases as the cut-off. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) for 1-year mortality after allogeneic and autologous HSCT were estimated using multivariable logistic regression.

For allogeneic HSCT, low-volume centers (≤25 cases/y) were associated with higher 1-year mortality (adjusted OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04-1.31, P = .008). However, low-volume centers did not show higher 1-year mortality (adjusted OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.89-1.19, P = .709) for autologous HSCT. Long-term mortality after HSCT was significantly worse in low-volume centers (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.17, 95% CI, 1.09-1.25, P < .001 and adjusted HR 1.09, 95% CI, 1.01-1.17, P = .024, allogeneic and autologous HSCT, respectively) compared with high-volume centers.

Our data suggest that higher institutional HSCT case volume seems to be associated with better short- and long-term survival.