Reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) regimens for allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT) have used alemtuzumab to abrogate the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Thirty-eight patients with advanced lymphoma underwent a prospective phase II study of melphalan, fludarabine and alemtuzumab containing RIC allo-SCT from 20 matched related and 18 unrelated donors with cyclosporine-A as GVHD prophylaxis. The cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute GVHD at 3 months was 10.5% and three evaluable patients experienced chronic GVHD. Progression-free (PFS) and overall (OS) survival at 5 years was 25% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 13-40%) and 44% (95% CI: 28-59%), respectively. Previous high-dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplant (HDT-ASCT) and elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) at the time of allo-SCT resulted in inferior OS. Within this cohort of patients with high-risk lymphoma, alemtuzumab containing RIC resulted in a low risk of GVHD and a high incidence of progression of disease, especially in those with poor-risk features defined by elevated LDH pre-allo-SCT and previous HDT-ASCT.
Keywords: Reduced-intensity; alemtuzumab; allogeneic transplant; lymphoma.