Impact of Blood Count Recovery-based Complete Remission Before Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation on Survival in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Patients who achieve complete remission (CR) with incomplete blood count recovery (CRi) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have inferior overall survival and lower progression-free survival. The aim of this study was to define whether blood count recovery-based CR before allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) had an impact on survival in patients with AML.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study has been performed in a retrospective manner. One hundred one patients with AML who received an alloHSCT in our transplant center at Hacettepe University Hospital between the years 2001 and 2018 were evaluated. CRi were defined as bone marrow CR with absolute neutrophil count < 1000/mm3 and/or platelet count < 100.000/mm3 . CR and CRi were confirmed just before alloHSCT in bone marrow and peripheral blood, respectively.

RESULTS: A total of 101 patients were entered into the study between 2001 and 2018. Median follow-up for all survivors was 38 months (range, 6-220 months). The 5-year overall survival for patients who were in CRi and patients who were in CR before transplantation were 58% and 67%, respectively (P = .68). The 5-year progression-free survival for patients who were in CRi and patients who were in CR before transplantation were 68% and 64%, respectively (P = .99).

CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we observed equivalent posttransplant outcomes between patients who were in CR and patients who were in CRi before alloHSCT. We assume that alloHSCT eliminated the negative effect of pre-transplant blood count levels.