BMC Cancer (Jul 2018)

Influence of pre-transplant minimal residual disease on prognosis after Allo-SCT for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: systematic review and meta-analysis

  • Zhenglei Shen,
  • Xuezhong Gu,
  • Wenwen Mao,
  • Liefen Yin,
  • Ling Yang,
  • Zhe Zhang,
  • Kunmei Liu,
  • Lilan Wang,
  • Yunchao Huang

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-018-4670-5
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

Read online

Abstract Background This meta-analysis was performed to explore the impact of minimal residual disease (MRD) prior to transplantation on the prognosis for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library was conducted for relevant studies from database inception to March 2016. A total of 21 studies were included. Results Patients with positive MRD prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) had a significantly higher rate of relapse compared with those with negative MRD (HR = 3.26; P < 0.05). Pre-transplantation positive MRD was a significant negative predictor of relapse-free survival (RFS) (HR = 2.53; P < 0.05), event-free survival (EFS) (HR = 4.77; P < 0.05), and overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.98; P < 0.05). However, positive MRD prior to transplantation was not associated with a higher rate of nonrelapse mortality. Conclusions Positive MRD before allo-SCT was a predictor of poor prognosis after transplantation in ALL. Trial registration Not applicable.

Keywords