Induction chemotherapy followed by allogeneic HCT versus upfront allogeneic HCT for advanced myelodysplastic syndrome: A propensity score matched analysis

To reduce post-transplant relapse, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) type remission induction chemotherapy has been attempted to reduce disease burden before allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However, the efficacy of induction chemotherapy before HCT is unclear. We retrospectively analyzed the Japanese registration data of 605 adult patients, who had received allogeneic HCT for advanced MDS between 2001 and 2016, to compare the post-transplant relapse between patients who received induction chemotherapy followed by allogeneic HCT and those who received upfront HCT. Propensity score matching identified 230 patients from each cohort. There were no significant differences in overall survival and non-relapse mortality between the two groups. The cumulative incidence of relapse was significantly higher in patients who received induction chemotherapy than those who received upfront HCT. In the subgroup analyses, upfront HCT had a significantly reduced relapse incidence among patients with poor cytogenetics, those with higher international prognostic scoring system at diagnosis, and those who received reduced-intensity conditioning. Our results suggested that AML type remission induction chemotherapy before HCT did not improve post-transplant relapse and survival for adult patients with advanced MDS. Upfront HCT is preferable for patients with a poor karyotype.