Browsing by Author "Bhatt, Vijaya Raj"
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Item Age is no barrier for adults undergoing HCT for AML in CR1: contemporary CIBMTR analysis(Springer Nature, 2022) Maakaron, Joseph E.; Zhang, Mei-Jie; Chen, Karen; Abhyankar, Sunil; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Chhabra, Saurabh; El Jurdi, Najla; Farag, Sherif S.; He, Fiona; Juckett, Mark; de Lima, Marcos; Majhail, Navneet; van der Poel, Marjolein; Saad, Ayman; Savani, Bipin; Ustun, Celalettin; Waller, Edmund K.; Litzow, Mark; Kebriaei, Partow; Hourigan, Christopher S.; Saber, Wael; Weisdorf, Daniel; Medicine, School of MedicineAcute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) has a median age at diagnosis of 67 years. The most common curative therapy remains an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT), yet it is complicated by treatment-related mortality (TRM) and ongoing morbidity including graft versus host disease (GVHD) that may impact survival, particularly in older patients. We examined the outcomes and predictors of success in 1321 patients aged 60 years and older receiving a HCT for AML in first complete remission (CR1) from 2007-2017 and reported to the CIBMTR. Outcomes were compared in three age cohorts (60-64; 65-69; 70+). With median follow-up of nearly 3 years, patients aged 60-64 had modestly, though significantly better OS, DFS and lower TRM than those either 65-69 or 70+; cohorts with similar outcomes. Three-year OS for the 3 cohorts was 49.4%, 42.3%, and 44.7% respectively (p = 0.026). TRM was higher with increasing age, cord blood as graft source and HCT-CI score of ≥3. Conditioning intensity was not a significant predictor of OS in the 60-69 cohort with 3-year OS of 46% for RIC and 49% for MAC (p = 0.38); MAC was rarely used over age 70. There was no difference in the relapse rate, incidence of Grade III/IV acute GVHD, or moderate-severe chronic GVHD across the age cohorts. After adjusting for other predictors, age had a small effect on OS and TRM. High-risk features including poor cytogenetics and measurable residual disease (MRD) prior to HCT were each significantly associated with relapse and accounted for most of the adverse impact on OS and DFS. Age did not influence the incidence of either acute or chronic GVHD; while graft type and associated GVHD prophylaxis were most important. These data suggest that age alone is not a barrier to successful HCT for AML in CR1 and should not exclude patients from HCT. Efforts should focus on minimizing residual disease and better donor selection.Item Breaking the Age Barrier: Physicians' Perceptions of Candidacy for Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Older Adults(Elsevier, 2021) Mishra, Asmita; Preussler, Jaime M.; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Bredeson, Christopher; Chhabra, Saurabh; D'Souza, Anita; Dahi, Parastoo B.; Danaher Hacker, Eileen; Gowda, Lohith; Hashmi, Shahrukh K.; Howard, Dianna S.; Jakubowski, Ann; Jayani, Reena; Koll, Thuy; Olin, Rebecca L.; Popat, Uday R.; Rodriguez, Cesar; Rosko, Ashley; Sabloff, Mitchell; Sorror, Mohamed L.; Sung, Anthony D.; Ustun, Celalettin; Wood, William A.; Burns, Linda; Artz, Andrew; School of NursingBackground: Despite continued increases in use of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) among older adults, no standardized geriatric assessment (GA) has been established to risk-stratify for transplant-related morbidity. We conducted a survey of transplant physicians to determine perceptions of the impact of older age (≥60 years) on alloHCT candidacy, and utilization of tools to gauge candidacy. Methods: We conducted a 23-item, online cross-sectional survey of HCT physicians caring for adults in the United States between May and July 2019. Results: Of the 770 invited HCT physicians, 175 (22.7%) completed the survey. The majority of respondents were 41–60 years old, male, and practiced in a higher volume teaching hospital. When considering regimen intensity, 29 physicians (17%) stated they would consider a myeloablative regimen for patients ≥70 years, and 141 (82%) would consider reduced intensity/non-myeloablative conditioning for patients ≥70 years. Almost all (90%) endorsed the need for a specialized assessment of pre-HCT vulnerabilities to guide candidacy decisions for older adults. Most physicians reported their centers rarely (33%) or never (46%) utilize a dedicated geriatrician/geriatric-oncologist to assess alloHCT candidates ≥60 years. Common barriers to performing a GA included uncertainty about which tools to use, lack of knowledge and training, and lack of appropriate clinical support staff. Conclusions: Many alloHCT physicians will consider alloHCT in patients up to age 75 years and not uncommonly, in patients older than that. However, application of tools and domains varies widely to assess candidacy in older adults. Incorporation of a standardized pre-transplant health assessment tool for risk stratification is a significant unmet need.Item Composite GRFS and CRFS Outcomes After Adult Alternative Donor HCT(American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2020-06-20) Mehta, Rohtesh S.; Holtan, Shernan G.; Wang, Tao; Hemmer, Michael T.; Spellman, Stephen R.; Arora, Mukta; Couriel, Daniel R.; Alousi, Amin M.; Pidala, Joseph; Abdel-Azim, Hisham; Agrawal, Vaibhav; Ahmed, Ibrahim A.; Al-Homsi, Samer; Aljurf, Mahmoud; Antin, Joseph H.; Askar, Medhat; Auletta, Jeffery J.; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Chee, Lynette; Chhabra, Saurabh; Daly, Andrew; DeFilipp, Zachariah; Gajewski, James; Gale, Robert Peter; Gergis, Usama; Hematti, Peiman; Hildebrandt, Gerhard C.; Hogan, William J.; Inamoto, Yoshihiro; Martino, Rodrigo; Majhail, Navneet S.; Marks, David I.; Nishihori, Taiga; Olsson, Richard F.; Pawarode, Attaphol; Diaz, Miguel Angel; Prestidge, Tim; Rangarajan, Hemalatha G.; Ringden, Olle; Saad, Ayman; Savani, Bipin N.; Schoemans, Hélène; Seo, Sachiko; Schultz, Kirk R.; Solh, Melhem; Spitzer, Thomas; Storek, Jan; Teshima, Takanori; Verdonck, Leo F.; Wirk, Baldeep; Yared, Jean A.; Cahn, Jean-Yves; Weisdorf, Daniel J.; Medicine, School of MedicinePurpose: There is no consensus on the best choice of an alternative donor (umbilical cord blood [UCB], haploidentical, one-antigen mismatched [7/8]-bone marrow [BM], or 7/8-peripheral blood [PB]) for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for patients lacking an HLA-matched related or unrelated donor. Methods: We report composite end points of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free relapse-free survival (GRFS) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD)-free relapse-free survival (CRFS) in 2,198 patients who underwent UCB (n = 838), haploidentical (n = 159), 7/8-BM (n = 241), or 7/8-PB (n = 960) HCT. All groups were divided by myeloablative conditioning (MAC) intensity or reduced intensity conditioning (RIC), except haploidentical group in which most received RIC. To account for multiple testing, P < .0071 in multivariable analysis and P < .00025 in direct pairwise comparisons were considered statistically significant. Results: In multivariable analysis, haploidentical group had the best GRFS, CRFS, and overall survival (OS). In the direct pairwise comparison of other groups, among those who received MAC, there was no difference in GRFS or CRFS among UCB, 7/8-BM, and 7/8-PB with serotherapy (alemtuzumab or antithymocyte globulin) groups. In contrast, the 7/8-PB without serotherapy group had significantly inferior GRFS, higher cGVHD, and a trend toward worse CRFS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.38; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.69; P = .002) than the 7/8-BM group and higher cGVHD and trend toward inferior CRFS (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.63; P = .0006) than the UCB group. Among patients with RIC, all groups had significantly inferior GRFS and CRFS compared with the haploidentical group. Conclusion: Recognizing the limitations of a registry retrospective analysis and the possibility of center selection bias in choosing donors, our data support the use of UCB, 7/8-BM, or 7/8-PB (with serotherapy) grafts for patients undergoing MAC HCT and haploidentical grafts for patients undergoing RIC HCT. The haploidentical group had the best GRFS, CRFS, and OS of all groups.Item Impact of cytogenetic abnormalities on outcomes of adult Philadelphia-negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a study by the Acute Leukemia Working Committee of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research(Ferrata Storti Foundation, 2019-09-26) Lazaryan, Aleksandr; Dolan, Michelle; Zhang, Mei-Jie; Wang, Hai-Lin; Kharfan-Dabaja, Mohamed A.; Marks, David I.; Bejanyan, Nelli; Copelan, Edward; Majhail, Navneet S.; Waller, Edmund K.; Chao, Nelson; Prestidge, Tim; Nishihori, Taiga; Kebriaei, Partow; Inamoto, Yoshihiro; Hamilton, Betty; Hashmi, Shahrukh K.; Kamble, Rammurti T.; Bacher, Ulrike; Hildebrandt, Gerhard C.; Stiff, Patrick J.; McGuirk, Joseph; Aldoss, Ibrahim; Beitinjaneh, Amer M.; Muffly, Lori; Vij, Ravi; Olsson, Richard F.; Byrne, Michael; Schultz, Kirk R.; Aljurf, Mahmoud; Seftel, Matthew; Savoie, Mary Lynn; Savani, Bipin N.; Verdonck, Leo F.; Cairo, Mitchell S.; Hossain, Nasheed; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Frangoul, Haydar A.; Abdel-Azim, Hisham; Al Malki, Monzr; Munker, Reinhold; Rizzieri, David; Khera, Nandita; Nakamura, Ryotaro; Ringdén, Olle; van der Poel, Marjolein; Murthy, Hemant S.; Liu, Hongtao; Mori, Shahram; De Oliveira, Satiro; Bolaños-Meade, Javier; Elsawy, Mahmoud; Barba, Pere; Nathan, Sunita; George, Biju; Pawarode, Attaphol; Grunwald, Michael; Agrawal, Vaibhav; Wang, Youjin; Assal, Amer; Castillo Caro, Paul; Kuwatsuka, Yachiyo; Seo, Sachiko; Ustun, Celalettin; Politikos, Ioannis; Lazarus, Hillard M.; Saber, Wael; Sandmaier, Brenda M.; De Lima, Marcos; Litzow, Mark; Bachanova, Veronika; Weisdorf, Daniel; Acute Leukemia Committee of the CIBMTR; Medicine, School of MedicineCytogenetic risk stratification at diagnosis has long been one of the most useful tools to assess prognosis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). To examine the prognostic impact of cytogenetic abnormalities on outcomes after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, we studied 1731 adults with Philadelphia-negative ALL in complete remission who underwent myeloablative or reduced intensity/non-myeloablative conditioning transplant from unrelated or matched sibling donors reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research. A total of 632 patients had abnormal conventional metaphase cytogenetics. The leukemia-free survival and overall survival rates at 5 years after transplantation in patients with abnormal cytogenetics were 40% and 42%, respectively, which were similar to those in patients with a normal karyotype. Of the previously established cytogenetic risk classifications, modified Medical Research Council-Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score was the only independent prognosticator of leukemia-free survival (P=0.03). In the multivariable analysis, monosomy 7 predicted post-transplant relapse [hazard ratio (HR)=2.11; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.04-4.27] and treatment failure (HR=1.97; 95% CI: 1.20-3.24). Complex karyotype was prognostic for relapse (HR=1.69; 95% CI: 1.06-2.69), whereas t(8;14) predicted treatment failure (HR=2.85; 95% CI: 1.35-6.02) and overall mortality (HR=3.03; 95% CI: 1.44-6.41). This large study suggested a novel transplant-specific cytogenetic scheme with adverse [monosomy 7, complex karyotype, del(7q), t(8;14), t(11;19), del(11q), tetraploidy/near triploidy], intermediate (normal karyotype and all other abnormalities), and favorable (high hyperdiploidy) risks to prognosticate leukemia-free survival (P=0.02). Although some previously established high-risk Philadelphia-negative cytogenetic abnormalities in ALL can be overcome by transplantation, monosomy 7, complex karyotype, and t(8;14) continue to pose significant risks and yield inferior outcomes.Item Impact of T Cell Dose on Outcome of T Cell-Replete HLA-Matched Allogeneic Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation(Elsevier, 2019) Saad, Ayman; Lamb, Lawrence; Wang, Tao; Hemmer, Michael T.; Spellman, Stephen; Couriel, Daniel; Alousi, Amin; Pidala, Joseph; Abdel-Azim, Hisham; Agrawal, Vaibhav; Aljurf, Mahmoud; Beitinjaneh, Amer M.; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Buchbinder, David; Byrne, Michael; Cahn, Jean-Yves; Cairo, Mitchell; Castillo, Paul; Chhabra, Saurabh; Diaz, Miguel Angel; Farhan, Shatha; Floisand, Yngvar; Frangoul, Hadar A.; Gadalla, Shahinaz M.; Gajewski, James; Gale, Robert Peter; Gandhi, Manish; Gergis, Usama; Hamilton, Betty Ky; Hematti, Peiman; Hildebrandt, Gerhard C.; Kamble, Rammurti T.; Kanate, Abraham S.; Khandelwal, Pooja; Lazaryn, Aleksandr; MacMillan, Margaret; Marks, David I.; Martino, Rodrigo; Mehta, Parinda A.; Nishihori, Taiga; Olsson, Richard F.; Patel, Sagar S.; Qayed, Muna; Rangarajan, Hemalatha G.; Reshef, Ran; Ringden, Olle; Savani, Bipin N.; Schouten, Harry C.; Schultz, Kirk R.; Seo, Sachiko; Shaffer, Brian C.; Solh, Melhem; Teshima, Takanori; Urbano-Ispizua, Alvaro; Verdonck, Leo F.; Vij, Ravi; Waller, Edmund K.; William, Basem; Wirk, Baldeep; Yared, Jean A.; Yu, Lolie C.; Arora, Mukta; Hashmi, Shahrukh; Medicine, School of MedicineData on whether the T cell dose of allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) products influences transplantation outcomes are conflicting. Using the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database, we identified 2736 adult patients who underwent first allogeneic PBSC transplantation for acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome between 2008 and 2014 using an HLA-matched sibling donor (MSD) or an 8/8-matched unrelated donor (MUD). We excluded ex vivo and in vivo T cell-depleted transplantations. Correlative analysis was performed between CD3+ T cell dose and the risk of graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), relapse, nonrelapse mortality (NRM), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS). Using maximum likelihood estimation, we identified CD3+ T cell dose cutoff that separated the risk of acute GVHD (aGVHD) grade II-IV in both the MSD and MUD groups. A CD3+ T cell dose cutoff of 14 × 107 cells/kg identified MSD/low CD3+ (n = 223) and MSD/high CD3+ (n = 1214), and a dose of 15 × 107 cells/kg identified MUD/low CD3+ (n = 197) and MUD/high CD3+ (n = 1102). On univariate analysis, the MSD/high CD3+ group had a higher cumulative incidence of day +100 aGVHD grade II-IV compared with the MSD/low CD3+ group (33% versus 25%; P = .009). There were no differences between the 2 groups in engraftment rate, risk of aGVHD grade III-IV or chronic GVHD (cGVHD), NRM, relapse, DFS, or OS. The MUD/high CD3+ group had a higher cumulative incidence of day +100 aGVHD grade II-IV compared with the MUD/low CD3+ group (49% versus 41%; P = .04). There were no differences between the 2 groups in engraftment rate, risk of severe aGVHD or cGVHD, NRM, relapse, DFS, or OS. Multivariate analysis of the MSD and MUD groups failed to show an association between CD3+ T cell dose and the risk of either aGVHD grade II-IV (P = .10 and .07, respectively) or cGVHD (P = .80 and .30, respectively). Subanalysis of CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD4+/CD8+ ratio failed to identify cutoff values predictive of transplantation outcomes; however, using the log-rank test, the sample size was suboptimal for identifying a difference at this cutoff cell dose. In this registry study, the CD3+ T cell dose of PBSC products did not influence the risk of aGVHD or cGVHD or other transplantation outcomes when using an MSD or an 8/8-matched MUD. Subset analyses of CD4+ and CD8+ T cell doses were not possible given our small sample size.Item Reduced intensity conditioning for acute myeloid leukemia using melphalan- vs busulfan-based regimens: a CIBMTR report(SAGE, 2020-07-14) Zhou, Zheng; Nath, Rajneesh; Cerny, Jan; Wang, Hai-Lin; Zhang, Mei-Jie; Abdel-Azim, Hisham; Agrawal, Vaibhav; Ahmed, Gulrayz; Al-Homsi, A. Samer; Aljurf, Mahmoud; Alkhateeb, Hassan B.; Assal, Amer; Bacher, Ulrike; Bajel, Ashish; Bashir, Qaiser; Battiwalla, Minocher; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Byrne, Michael; Cahn, Jean-Yves; Cairo, Mitchell; Choe, Hannah; Copelan, Edward; Cutler, Corey; Damlaj, Moussab B.; DeFilipp, Zachariah; De Lima, Marcos; Diaz, Miguel Angel; Farhadfar, Nosha; Foran, James; Freytes, César O.; Gerds, Aaron T.; Gergis, Usama; Grunwald, Michael R.; Gul, Zartash; Hamadani, Mehdi; Hashmi, Shahrukh; Hertzberg, Mark; Hildebrandt, Gerhard C.; Hossain, Nasheed; Inamoto, Yoshihiro; Isola, Luis; Jain, Tania; Kamble, Rammurti T.; Khan, Muhammad Waqas; Kharfan-Dabaja, Mohamed A.; Kebriaei, Partow; Kekre, Natasha; Khera, Nandita; Lazarus, Hillard M.; Liesveld, Jane L.; Litzow, Mark; Liu, Hongtao; Marks, David I.; Martino, Rodrigo; Mathews, Vikram; Mishra, Asmita; Murthy, Hemant S.; Nagler, Arnon; Nakamura, Ryotaro; Nathan, Sunita; Nishihori, Taiga; Olin, Rebecca; Olsson, Richard F.; Palmisiano, Neil; Patel, Sagar S.; Patnaik, Mrinal M.; Pawarode, Attaphol; Perales, Miguel-Angel; Politikos, Ioannis; Popat, Uday; Rizzieri, David; Sandmaier, Brenda M.; Savani, Bipin N.; Seo, Sachiko; Shah, Nirav N.; Uy, Geoffrey L.; Valcárcel, David; Verdonck, Leo F.; Waller, Edmund K.; Wang, Youjin; Weisdorf, Daniel; Wirk, Baldeep; Wong, Eric; Yared, Jean A.; Saber, Wael; Medicine, School of MedicineThere is a lack of large comparative study on the outcomes of reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) transplantation using fludarabine/busulfan (FB) and fludarabine/melphalan (FM) regimens. Adult AML patients from Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research who received first RIC allo-transplant between 2001 and 2015 were studied. Patients were excluded if they received cord blood or identical twin transplant, total body irradiation in conditioning, or graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with in vitro T-cell depletion. Primary outcome was overall survival (OS), secondary end points were leukemia-free survival (LFS), nonrelapse mortality (NRM), relapse, and GVHD. Multivariate survival model was used with adjustment for patient, leukemia, and transplant-related factors. A total of 622 patients received FM and 791 received FB RIC. Compared with FB, the FM group had fewer transplant in complete remission (CR), fewer matched sibling donors, and less usage of anti-thymocyte globulin or alemtuzumab. More patients in the FM group received marrow grafts and had transplantation before 2005. OS was significantly lower within the first 3 months posttransplant in the FM group (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.82, P < .001), but was marginally superior beyond 3 months (HR = 0.87, P = .05). LFS was better with FM compared with FB (HR = 0.89, P = .05). NRM was significantly increased in the FM group during the first 3 months of posttransplant (HR = 3.85, P < .001). Long-term relapse was lower with FM (HR = 0.65, P < .001). Analysis restricted to patients with CR showed comparable results. In conclusion, compared with FB, the FM RIC showed a marginally superior long-term OS and LFS and a lower relapse rate. A lower OS early posttransplant within 3 months was largely the result of a higher early NRM.Item Risk Factors for Graft-versus-Host Disease in Haploidentical Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Using Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide(Elsevier, 2020-08) Im, Annie; Rashidi, Armin; Wang, Tao; Hemmer, Michael; MacMillan, Margaret L.; Pidala, Joseph; Jagasia, Madan; Pavletic, Steven; Majhail, Navneet S.; Weisdorf, Daniel; Abdel-Azim, Hisham; Agrawal, Vaibhav; Al-Homsi, A. Samer; Aljurf, Mahmoud; Askar, Medhat; Auletta, Jeffery J.; Bashey, Asad; Beitinjaneh, Amer; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Byrne, Michael; Cahn, Jean-Yves; Cairo, Mitchell; Castillo, Paul; Cerny, Jan; Chhabra, Saurabh; Choe, Hannah; Ciurea, Stefan; Daly, Andrew; Perez, Miguel Angel Diaz; Farhadfar, Nosha; Gadalla, Shahinaz M.; Gale, Robert; Ganguly, Siddhartha; Gergis, Usama; Hanna, Rabi; Hematti, Peiman; Herzig, Roger; Hildebrandt, Gerhard C.; Lad, Deepesh P.; Lee, Catherine; Lehmann, Leslie; Lekakis, Lazaros; Kamble, Rammurti T.; Kharfan-Dabaja, Mohamed A.; Khandelwal, Pooja; Martino, Rodrigo; Murthy, Hemant S.; Nishihori, Taiga; O'Brien, Tracey A.; Olsson, Richard F.; Patel, Sagar S.; Perales, Miguel-Angel; Prestidge, Tim; Qayed, Muna; Romee, Rizwan; Schoemans, Hélène; Seo, Sachiko; Sharma, Akshay; Solh, Melhem; Strair, Roger; Teshima, Takanori; Urbano-Ispizua, Alvaro; Van der Poel, Marjolein; Vij, Ravi; Wagner, John L.; William, Basem; Wirk, Baldeep; Yared, Jean A.; Spellman, Steve R.; Arora, Mukta; Hamilton, Betty K.; Medicine, School of MedicinePost-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) has significantly increased the successful use of haploidentical donors with a relatively low incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Given its increasing use, we sought to determine risk factors for GVHD after haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (haplo-HCT) using PTCy. Data from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research on adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or chronic myeloid leukemia who underwent PTCy-based haplo-HCT (2013 to 2016) were analyzed and categorized into 4 groups based on myeloablative (MA) or reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) and bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood (PB) graft source. In total, 646 patients were identified (MA-BM = 79, MA-PB = 183, RIC-BM = 192, RIC-PB = 192). The incidence of grade 2 to 4 acute GVHD at 6 months was highest in MA-PB (44%), followed by RIC-PB (36%), MA-BM (36%), and RIC-BM (30%) (P = .002). The incidence of chronic GVHD at 1 year was 40%, 34%, 24%, and 20%, respectively (P < .001). In multivariable analysis, there was no impact of stem cell source or conditioning regimen on grade 2 to 4 acute GVHD; however, older donor age (30 to 49 versus <29 years) was significantly associated with higher rates of grade 2 to 4 acute GVHD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 2.12; P = .01). In contrast, PB compared to BM as a stem cell source was a significant risk factor for the development of chronic GVHD (HR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.11 to 2.62; P = .01) in the RIC setting. There were no differences in relapse or overall survival between groups. Donor age and graft source are risk factors for acute and chronic GVHD, respectively, after PTCy-based haplo-HCT. Our results indicate that in RIC haplo-HCT, the risk of chronic GVHD is higher with PB stem cells, without any difference in relapse or overall survival.Item Special considerations in the management of adult patients with acute leukaemias and myeloid neoplasms in the COVID-19 era: recommendations from a panel of international experts(Elsevier, 2020-06-18) Zeidan, Amer M.; Boddu, Prajwal C.; Patnaik, Mrinal M.; Bewersdorf, Jan Philipp; Stahl, Maximilian; Rampal, Raajit K.; Shallis, Rory; Steensma, David P.; Savona, Michael R.; Sekeres, Mikkael A.; Roboz, Gail J.; DeAngelo, Daniel J.; Schuh, Andre C.; Padron, Eric; Zeidner, Joshua F.; Walter, Roland B.; Onida, Francesco; Fathi, Amir; DeZern, Amy; Hobbs, Gabriela; Stein, Eytan M.; Vyas, Paresh; Wei, Andrew H.; Bowen, David T.; Montesinos, Pau; Griffiths, Elizabeth A.; Verma, Amit K.; Keyzner, Alla; Bar-Natan, Michal; Navada, Shyamala C.; Kremyanskaya, Marina; Goldberg, Aaron D.; Al-Kali, Aref; Heaney, Mark L.; Nazha, Aziz; Salman, Huda; Luger, Selina; Pratz, Keith W.; Konig, Heiko; Komrokji, Rami; Deininger, Michael; Cirici, Blanca Xicoy; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Silverman, Lewis R.; Erba, Harry P.; Fenaux, Pierre; Platzbecker, Uwe; Santini, Valeria; Wang, Eunice S.; Tallman, Martin S.; Stone, Richard M.; Mascarenhas, John; Medicine, School of MedicineThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is a global public health crisis. Multiple observations indicate poorer post-infection outcomes for patients with cancer than for the general population. Herein, we highlight the challenges in caring for patients with acute leukaemias and myeloid neoplasms amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We summarise key changes related to service allocation, clinical and supportive care, clinical trial participation, and ethical considerations regarding the use of lifesaving measures for these patients. We recognise that these recommendations might be more applicable to high-income countries and might not be generalisable because of regional differences in health-care infrastructure, individual circumstances, and a complex and highly fluid health-care environment. Despite these limitations, we aim to provide a general framework for the care of patients with acute leukaemias and myeloid neoplasms during the COVID-19 pandemic on the basis of recommendations from international experts.Item Transplant Physicians’ Attitudes on Candidacy for Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) in Older Patients: The Need for a Standardized Geriatric Assessment (GA) Tool(Elsevier, 2020-03) Mishra, Asmita; Preussler, Jaime M.; Al-Mansour, Zeina; Bachanova, Veronika; Bhatt, Vijaya Raj; Bredeson, Christopher; Chhabra, Saurabh; D’Souza, Anita; Dahi, Parastoo B.; DeFilipp, Zack; Gowda, Lohith; Danaher Hacker, Eileen; Hashmi, Shahrukh K.; Howard, Dianna S.; Jakubowski, Ann A.; Jayani, Reena; Johnston, Laura; Koll, Thuy; Lin, Richard J.; McCurdy, Shannon R.; Michaelis, Laura C.; Muffly, Lori; Nathwani, Nitya; Olin, Rebecca L.; Popat, Uday R.; Rodriguez, Cesar; Rosko, Ashley; Runaas, Lyndsey; Sabloff, Mitchell; Shore, Tsiporah B.; Shune, Leyla; Sorror, Mohamed L.; Sung, Anthony D.; Ustun, Celalettin; Wood, William; Burns, Linda J.; Artz, Andrew S.; School of NursingBackground Despite improvements in conditioning regimens and supportive care having expanded the curative potential of HCT, underutilization of HCT in older adults persists (Bhatt VR et al, BMT 2017). Therefore, we conducted a survey of transplant physicians (TP) to determine their perceptions of the impact of older age (≥60 years) on HCT candidacy and utilization of tools to gauge candidacy. Methods We conducted a 23-item, online cross-sectional survey of adult physicians recruited from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research between May and July 2019. Results 175/770 (22.7%) TP completed the survey; majority of respondents were 41-60 years old, male, and practicing in a teaching hospital. Over 75% were at centers performing ≥50 HCT per year. When considering regimen intensity, most (96%, n=168) had an upper age limit (UAL) for using a myeloablative regimen (MAC), with only 29 physicians (17%) stating they would consider MAC for patients ≥70 years. In contrast, when considering a reduced intensity/non-myeloablative conditioning (RIC/NMA), 8%, (n=13), 54% (n=93), and 20% (n=35) stated that age 70, 75, and 80 years respectively would be the UAL to use this approach, with 18% (n=31) reporting no UAL. TP agreed that Karnofsky Performance Score (KPS) could exclude older pts for HCT, with 39.1% (n=66), 42.6% (n=72), and 11.4% (n=20) requiring KPS of ≥70, 80, and 90, respectively. The majority (n=92, 52.5%) indicated an HCT-comorbidity index threshold for exclusion, mostly ranging from ≥3 to ≥ 5. Almost all (89.7%) endorsed the need for a better health assessment of pre-HCT vulnerabilities to guide candidacy for pts ≥60 with varied assessments being utilized beyond KPS (Figure 1). However, the majority of centers rarely (33.1%) or never (45.7%) utilize a dedicated geriatrician/geriatric-oncologist to assess alloHCT candidates ≥60 yrs. The largest barriers to performing GA included uncertainty about which tools to use, lack of knowledge and training, and lack of appropriate clinical support staff (Figure 2). Approximately half (n=78, 45%) endorsed GA now routinely influences candidacy. Conclusions The vast majority of TP will consider RIC/NMA alloHCT for patients ≥70 years. However, there is heterogeneity in assessing candidacy. Incorporation of GA into a standardized and easily applied health assessment tool for risk stratification is an unmet need. The recently opened BMT CTN 1704 may aid in addressing this gap.