Matched unrelated donor stem cell transplant in 131 patients with follicular lymphoma: an analysis from the Lymphoma Working Party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Matched unrelated donor stem cell transplantation (MUD‐SCT) provides the only curative option for patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) who fail conventional therapies and do not have a sibling donor. The purpose of this study was to analyse the outcome of patients with FL treated with MUD‐SCT included in the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation registry. 131 patients treated with reduced‐intensity conditioning (RIC, n = 87) or conventional myeloablative (CONV, n = 44) MUD‐SCT between 2000 and 2005 were included. Median time from diagnosis to MUD‐SCT was 47 months and the median number of previous therapeutic regimens was 4 (previous autograft: 47%). RIC recipients were significantly older, with a longer interval from diagnosis to MUD‐SCT and had failed a previous autograft more frequently than CONV recipients. Non‐relapse mortality (NRM) was 24% and 30% at 100‐d and 1‐year, respectively. After a median follow‐up of 36 months, 17% of the patients developed disease progression, the 3‐year progression‐free survival (PFS) being 47%. Three‐year overall survival (OS) for the whole series was 51%. On multivariate analysis, RIC regimens were associated with at lower NRM and a significantly longer PFS and OS. This retrospective study demonstrated that MUD‐SCT results, even in heavily pre‐treated populations, in a meaningful PFS and OS.