Secondary solid malignancies and precancerous lesions after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation using non-total body irradiation-based conditioning in acute myeloid leukemia

Long-term survivors have an increased risk of developing secondary solid malignancies (SSMs) after allogeneic-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) potentially modulating these risks.

This retrospective study analyzed the cumulative incidences of SSMs after chemotherapy-based conditioning for allo-HSCT patients with acute myeloid leukemia (n = 266) transplanted at the University Hospital Regensburg between 1999 and 2016.

The median follow-up was 11.4 years (Interquartile range, 9.0–14.9). The 100-day cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute GVHD (aGVHD) was 44.4% [95% CI (38.3, 50.2)], while the 5-year cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD (cGVHD, requiring systemic immunosuppression) was 36.9% [95% CI (31.1, 42.6)]. The cumulative incidences of secondary squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) at 10 and 15 years were 4.2% [95% CI (2.2, 7.2)] and 8.1% [95% CI (4.6, 12.8)], while the cumulative incidences of non-SCCs at 10 and 15 years were 5.4% [95% CI (3.1, 8.7)] and 6.9% [95% CI (4.0, 10.8)]. Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) was associated with reduced incidences of SCCs but not of non-SCCs. Patients with grade II-IV aGVHD had increased rates of SCCs after adjusting with patient age and ATG, while patients with cGVHD showed only a trend for increased rates of SCCs.

The data indicate that aGVHD and cGVHD affect the rates of secondary SCCs. While the use of ATG is associated with lower incidences of SCCs via reduction of GVHD, there was no association of ATG with non-SCCs.