Rituximab has been shown to improve outcomes in patients with B-cell lymphoma. However, patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) still have a poor prognosis, and the choice between high-dose therapy with autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and allogeneic HCT remains controversial in these patients. We retrospectively analyzed the risk factors for outcomes in 162 R/R MCL patients who received autologous (n = 111) or allogeneic (n = 51) HCT between 2004 and 2014. The median overall survival (OS) rates were 48 and 65 months in the autologous and allogeneic HCT groups, respectively (P = 0.20). Significant risk factors for overall survival in R/R MCL patients after autologous HCT were > 60 years of age at HCT (P = 0.017), higher score of HCT-specific comorbidity index at HCT (P = 0.033), and receiving MCEC (ranimustine + carboplatin + etoposide + cyclophosphamide) regimen (P = 0.017), while higher performance status at HCT (P = 0.011) and longer interval from diagnosis to HCT (P = 0.0054) were risk factors after allogeneic HCT. Strategies that carefully select R/R MCL patients for autologous HCT may allow the identification of individuals suitable for allogeneic HCT.
Keywords: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation relapsed or refractory; Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation; Mantle cell lymphoma.