Early Cardiac Toxicity Associated With Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

BACKGROUND Post-transplant cydophosphamide (PT-Cy) has become a standard of care in haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to reduce the risk of graft-versus-host disease. However, data on cardiac events associated with PT-Cy are scarce. OBJECTIVES This study sought to assess the incidence and clinical features of cardiac events associated with PT-Cy. METHODS The study compared clinical outcomes between patients who received PT-Cy (n = 136) and patients who did not (n = 195), with a focus on early cardiac events (ECE) occurring within the first 100 days after HSCT. All patients had the same systematic cardiac monitoring. RESULTS The cumulative incidence of ECE was 19% in the PT-Cy group and 6% in the no-PT-Cy group (p < 0.001). The main ECE occurring after PT-Cy were left ventricular systolic dysfunction (13%), acute pulmonary edema (7%), pericarditis (4%), arrhythmia (3%), and acute coronary syndrome (2%). Cardiovascular risk factors were not associated with ECE. In multivariable analysis, the use of PT-Cy was associated with ECE (hazard ratio: 2.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.4 to 4.9; p = 0.002]. Older age, sequential conditioning regimen, and Cy exposure before HSCT were also associated with a higher incidence of ECE. Finally, a history of cardiac events before HSCT and ECE had a detrimental impact on overall survival. CONCLUSIONS PT-Cy is associated with a higher incidence of ECE occurring within the first 100 days after HSCT. Patients who have a cardiac event after HSCT have tower overall survival. These results may help to improve the selection of patients who are eligible to undergo HSCT with PT-Cy, especially older adult patients and patients with previous exposure to Cy. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier on behalf of the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

Automated summary

This study compared clinical outcomes between patients who received post-transplant cydophosphamide (PT-Cy) and patients who did not, finding a higher incidence of early cardiac events in patients who received PT-Cy.