How I treat with maintenance therapy after allogeneic HCT

Disease relapse is the leading cause of failure for patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Maintenance therapy administered after allo-HCT is a promising strategy to reduce the incidence of relapse and enhance the curative potential of allo-HCT. Research investigations and clinical applications of this approach have greatly increased in recent years, with an expanding number of available therapeutic agents to introduce in the posttransplant setting. However, many questions and challenges remain regarding the feasibility and clinical impact of maintenance. In this article, we present four common case scenarios addressing select available therapeutic agents as a framework to review published data and ongoing studies and describe our current standard practice in the rapidly evolving field of maintenance therapy after allo-HCT.

Automated summary

Disease relapse is a major issue for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), and maintenance therapy after allo-HCT is a promising strategy to reduce relapse and enhance the curative potential. However, there are still many questions and challenges regarding the feasibility and clinical impact of maintenance therapy. This article reviews published data and ongoing studies, and describes current standard practice, using four common case scenarios as a framework.