Transplantation Outcomes for Children with Hypodiploid Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Children with hypodiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have inferior outcomes despite intensive risk-adapted chemotherapy regimens. We describe 78 children with hypodiploid ALL who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation between 1990 and 2010. Thirty-nine (50%) patients had ≤ 43 chromosomes, 12 (15%) had 44 chromosomes, and 27 (35%) had 45 chromosomes. Forty-three (55%) patients underwent transplantation in first remission (CR1) and 35 (45%) underwent transplantation in ≥ second remission (CR2). Twenty-nine patients (37%) received a graft from a related donor and 49 (63%) from an unrelated donor. All patients received a myeloablative conditioning regimen. The 5-year probabilities of leukemia-free survival, overall survival, relapse, and treatment-related mortality for the entire cohort were 51%, 56%, 27%, and 22%, respectively. Multivariate analysis confirmed that mortality risks were higher for patients who underwent transplantation in CR2 (hazard ratio, 2.16; P= .05), with number of chromosomes ≤ 43 (hazard ratio, 2.15; P= .05), and for those who underwent transplantation in the first decade of the study period (hazard ratio, 2.60; P= .01). Similarly, treatment failure risks were higher with number of chromosomes ≤ 43 (hazard ratio, 2.28; P= .04) and the earlier transplantation period (hazard ratio, 2.51; P= .01). Although survival is better with advances in donor selection and supportive care, disease-related risk factors significantly influence transplantation outcomes.