To more fully demonstrate the utility of haploidentical bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplants (haploBMT) as an alternative to fully matched transplants, this study evaluated nonmyeloablative, related haploBMT (with post-transplantation cyclophosphamide) among patients aged 50 – 75 with poor-risk hematologic malignancies.

Results of 273 such transplants performed at Johns Hopkins were compared to determine the impact of older age on outcomes.

The two-year probability of progression-free survival was very similar among patients in their 50s, 60s, and 70s (39, 36, and 39%, respectively), as was the two-year probability of overall survival (51, 56, and 44%).

Among these age groups, there were also no statistically significant differences in the risks of non-relapse death or severe graft-versus-host disease.

“The similarly positive outcomes we observed among patients in their 50s, 60s, and 70s clearly illustrate that advanced age need no longer be a significant barrier to successful outcomes after half-matched BMT,” said study author Yvette Kasamon, MD, of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore.

“These results underscore that a reduced-intensity, related haploidentical transplant should be considered a very reasonable treatment option for suitable patients up to at least age 75 who require a transplant.”

Source: ASH