EAM conditioning regimen followed by autologous hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for relapsed, refractory and high risk lymphomas

Abstract

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant is the standard treatment of refractory / recurrent lymphomas, most of conditioning regimens in this cases are BCNU-based as for BEAM & CBV , this agent (BCNU) is well-known for its severe lung toxicity . In our department we tried to assess effectivity and safety of approaches that contain BCNU-free conditioning regimen as for this EAM protocol in Autologous Stem Cell Transplant. Seventeen patients (ten males, seven females) of either refractory/relapsed or high risk lymphomas received the EAM conditioning regimen in our department from 2011 to 2012 as follows: intravenous Etoposide 200 mg/m2 on days -5,-4,-3 and -2 (total dose of 800 mg\m2); intravenous Ara-C 1000 mg/m2 twice daily on days -5,-4,-3 and -2 (total dose of 8000 mg\m2); and intravenous Melphalan 140 mg/m2 once daily on day -1. The median follow-up of our patients group was 24 months, (range: 2–31). ASCT results after EAM conditioning regimen were as follows: Fifteen patients (88%) achieved complete remission, one patient (6%) had progressive disease post-ASCT, and one more (6%) died within the first 100 days that followed transplantation. Overall survival at 31 months was 82% while median disease-free survival (DFS) at 27 months were 78% and the median 100-days treatment related morbidity (TRM) was 6%. Our preliminary study results suggest that EAM regimen as applied in this work had resulted in remarkably good short-term results regarding transplantation-related mortality, overall and disease-free survival.

Keywords

• autologous
• conditioning
• lymphomas