Impact of conditioning regimen intensity on outcomes of second allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for secondary acute myelogenous leukemia

Limited data is available on factors impacting the outcomes of second hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT2) in patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML). This study aimed to assess HCT2 outcome for sAML comparing reduced-intensity (RIC) to myeloablative (MAC) conditioning. Two hundred and fifteen patients were included: RIC (n = 134), MAC (n = 81). The median follow-up was 41.1 (95% CI: 26.7–69.3) and 28.5 (95% CI: 23.9–75.4) months, respectively. At two years, the relapse incidence (RI) was 58.3% versus 51.1% in RIC and MAC, respectively. The 2-year leukemia free survival (LFS) was 26.6% versus 26%, and the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) was 16.4% versus 12.1%, while OS was 31.4% and 39.7%, for RIC and MAC respectively. MVA showed a significantly lower RI [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.46 (95% CI, 0.26–0.8, p = 0.006)] and improved LFS [HR = 0.62 (95% CI, 0.39–0.98, p = 0.042)] with MAC versus RIC. The choice of conditioning regimen did not impact non-relapse mortality [HR = 1.14 (95% CI, 0.52–2.5, p = 0.74)], overall survival (OS) [HR = 0.72 (95% CI, 0.44–1.17, p = 0.18)] or GRFS [HR = 0.89 (95% CI, 0.59–1.36, p = 0.6)]. In conclusion, MAC was associated with a lower RI and superior LFS. These results support the use of MAC for eligible patients with sAML who are being considered for HCT2.