Assessing Race-Related Outcomes in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

In an analysis of race/ethnicity outcomes in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), data suggest that Non-Hispanic Whites (NHW) and Hispanics (H) respond similarly to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). The study was presented at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

To conduct this study, Snegha Ananth and colleagues initially focused on 45 patients with MPN in San Antonio, TX, who underwent HCT disorders from January 2008 to December 2000. The final analysis was comprised of 19 NHW patients and 19 H patients. Race was self-reported, and the investigative team procured background data from electronic medical records. Chi-square tests and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to compare data between races and assess for overall survival (OS).

The study found that H patients were on average younger at time of transplant compared to NHW (52 years of age vs. 62 years of age), and more likely to have a haploidentical donor (47% vs. 11%). However, the researchers observed no appreciable differences between NHW and H patients as pertaining to performance status, conditioning regimen, stem cell source, and Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis. Moreover, there were no significant differences in total time to neutrophil or platelet recovery, and no marked differences in cumulative incidence of acute GvHD. Furthermore, the analysis found no significant difference in relapse mortality and non-relapse mortality between the two groups.

The researchers concluded that: “NHW and H had comparable relapse, non-relapse and survival rates likely due to similar access to treatment and follow-up within a single institution.” They added that larger and prospective studies are needed “to further elucidate this important topic.”