Salvage chemotherapy followed by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-primed donor leukocyte infusion with graft-vs.-host disease control for minimal residual disease in acute leukemia/myelodysplastic syndrome after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: prognostic factors and clinical outcomes.

This study investigated the prognostic factors and clinical outcomes of preemptive chemotherapy followed by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-primed donor leukocyte infusion (Chemo-DLI) according to minimal residual disease (MRD) status in patients with acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes who received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (n = 101). Patients received immunosuppressive drugs to prevent graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) after Chemo-DLI. The 3-yr cumulative incidences of relapse, non-relapse mortality, and disease-free survival (DFS) after HSCT were 39.5%, 9.6%, and 51.7%, respectively. The cumulative incidences of relapse and DFS were significantly poorer in patients who exhibited early-onset MRD. Forty-four patients turned MRD negative 1 month after Chemo-DLI; their cumulative incidences of relapse and DFS were significantly better than those with persistent MRD 1 month after preemptive Chemo-DLI (relapse: 19.8% vs. 46.8%, P = 0.001; DFS: 69.6% vs. 46.4%, P = 0.004). The cumulative incidences of relapse and DFS after HSCT were significantly better in patients with chronic GVHD (cGVHD) than those without cGVHD (relapse: 19.6% vs. 63.7%, P < 0.001; DFS: 74.4% vs. 23.8%, P < 0.001). Early-onset MRD, persistent MRD after Chemo-DLI, and non-cGVHD after Chemo-DLI, which were associated with increased relapse and impaired DFS, suggest unsatisfactory response to preemptive Chemo-DLI.