Extramedullary disease at diagnosis of AML does not influence outcome of patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant in CR1.

OBJECTIVE: Extramedullary disease (EMD) at diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been associated with increased risk of relapse and worse outcomes post-chemotherapy. This study sought to investigate the association of EMD with outcomes following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT).

METHODS: This single-center retrospective study investigated the impact of EMD at diagnosis on the outcome of patients transplanted for AML in first complete remission (CR1). The study included 303 consecutive patients with AML transplanted in CR1, median age 51 years (range 18-71).

RESULTS: EMD at diagnosis was documented in 39 patients (13%), either histologically (26 patients) or clinically/radiologically (13 patients). Among the 39 EMD patients, 16 had CNS disease, seven had gingival infiltration, and five had leukemia cutis. On univariate analysis, EMD had no significant impact on survival, with a 3-year OS of 55% (95% CI 38-69) compared to 48% for the non-EMD group (95% CI 42%-55%) (P=.84). Likewise, 3-year CIR was 18% vs 19% (P=.86) and 3-year NRM was 26% vs 33% (P=.83) for EMD vs non-EMD groups, respectively. Multivariate analysis confirmed these results.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that EMD at diagnosis of AML does not seem to influence outcomes following allo-HCT performed in CR1.