Successful treatment of idiopathic colitis related to XIAP deficiency with allo‐HSCT using reduced‐intensity conditioning

Recently, it has been reported that Crohn's‐like intractable colitis occurred in approximately 20% of the patients with XIAP deficiency, also known as X‐linked lymphoproliferative disease type 2. Because treatment used for Crohn's disease is not always effective for Crohn's‐like colitis related to XIAP deficiency, more effective treatment should be established. Although several studies reported allo‐HSCT might be promising even for Crohn's‐like colitis related to XIAP deficiency, the outcome of allo‐HSCT using MAC for XIAP deficiency is extremely poor due to frequent TRM. In addition, there is little information about the outcome of allo‐HSCT for intractable colitis related to XIAP deficiency. Herein, we describe a patient with intractable colitis related to XIAP deficiency who was successfully treated with allo‐HSCT using a reduced‐intensity conditioning regimen. Although allo‐HSCT using the RIC regimen might be a curative therapeutic option for intractable colitis with XIAP deficiency, the prognostic factors that will determine the success of allo‐HSCT require further clinical information of more patients.     

Successful fludarabine‐based hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a pediatric patient with idiopathic CD4+ lymphocytopenia

Idiopathic CD4+ lymphocytopenia (ICL) is a rare immunodeficiency disease with severe CD4 T‐cell depletion, leading to serious opportunistic infections. The optimal treatment of ICL has not been determined, especially in severe form of the disease. Here, we report an eight‐yr‐old girl with ICL who was successfully treated with fludarabine‐based conditioning HSCT. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first pediatric ICL case that was treated by HSCT. Allogeneic HSCT with a reduced intensity condition (RIC) regimen may be a feasible and curative treatment option in ICL patients with recurrent life‐threatening complications.     

Treosulfan‐based reduced toxicity hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in X‐linked agammaglobulinemia: A cost‐effective alternative to long‐term immunoglobulin replacement in developing countries

X‐linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is a primary antibody disorder due to a mutation in the Bruton tyrosine kinase gene that requires lifelong immunoglobulin replacement resulting in a significant economic burden and treatment abandonment. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) offers an alternative option for complete cure. In our series, two children with XLA underwent successful HSCT using a myeloablative conditioning with thiotepa, treosulfan, and fludarabine from a matched sibling donor. The second child had rejected his first graft following a busulfan‐based regimen with resultant autologous reconstitution. At 6 months post‐HSCT, serum IgG were normal, off IVIG, and had no infections. Both children after a median follow‐up of 20 months have 100% chimerism. Treosulfan‐based reduced toxicity myeloablative HSCT has encouraging results with a positive impact on the socioeconomics in developing countries.     

Chronic immune‐mediated axonal polyneuropathy following umbilical cord blood transplant for childhood‐onset cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy

Shibata M, Kato T, Awaya T, Adachi S, Heike T. Chronic immune‐mediated axonal polyneuropathy following umbilical cord blood transplant for childhood‐onset cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy. Abstract: Peripheral polyneuropathy is an unusual complication after organ transplantation and HSCT. The present study describes the case of an eight‐yr‐old boy diagnosed with ALD who underwent HLA‐matched UCBT under a reduced‐intensity conditioning regimen and developed progressive walking difficulty and hand clumsiness 11 months after transplantation. These symptoms were associated with cGVHD, identified as immune‐mediated axonopathy by electrophysiological examination and sural nerve biopsy. Peripheral polyneuropathy should be kept in mind as a complication of GVHD.     

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is a sign of poor outcome in pediatric Epstein‐Barr virus‐associated post‐transplant lymphoproliferative disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

EBV‐related PTLD developing after HSCT is a potentially life‐threatening disease. HLH is uncommon after allogeneic HSCT. Data on outcome of patients with PTLD and concomitant HLH after allogeneic HSCT are limited. In this retrospective study, we collected demographic, clinical, laboratory, and outcome data for 408 patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT from 2006 to 2015. Graft source included CB (n = 135; 33.1%), PBSCs (n = 34; 8.3%), and BM (n = 239; 58.6%). Eight out of 408 patients (2%) developed EBV‐PTLD with a median age at HSCT of 5.9 years (range: 2.3‐17.3). All eight patients received ATG as part of the conditioning regimen. Graft source was PBSC in three patients (37.5%), BM in four patients (50%), and CB in one patient (12.5%). Donors were matched unrelated in five patients (62.5%) and matched sibling in three patients (37.5%). Seven out of eight patients developed EBV‐PTLD within the first 100‐day post‐HSCT. Lymph node biopsy revealed early lesions in three patients, polymorphic in three patients, and monomorphic PTLD in two patients. Three patients (37.5%) died within 1 month of EBV‐PTLD diagnosis. All deceased patients developed HLH manifestations with two of them meeting HLH diagnostic criteria and one having an incomplete workup. PTLD after allogeneic HSCT with manifestations of HLH is associated with high mortality. Early identification and treatment of EBV‐PTLD seems imperative to control the disease, especially if signs of HLH are evolving.     

Successful allogeneic stem cell transplantation with a reduced‐intensity conditioning in a leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I patient

Hamidieh AA, Pourpak Z, Alimoghaddam K, Movahedi M, Bahoush G, Behmanesh F, Moin M, Ghavamzadeh A. Successful allogeneic stem cell transplantation with a reduced‐intensity conditioning in a leukocyte adhesion deficiency type I patient.
Pediatr Transplantation 2011: 15:E30–E33. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: LAD‐I is a rare, autosomal recessive, primary immunodeficiency in which phagocyte adhesion and chemotaxis are impaired. Multiple infections in the absence of pus accumulation and persistent elevated peripheral blood neutrophil counts are the hallmark of LAD‐I. Allogeneic HSCT is the only treatment proved to be potentially curative for phagocyte adhesion impairment in LAD‐I. Here, we report on a case of a 30‐month‐old girl with LAD‐I, in whom peripheral blood stem cell from a genotypically identical sibling resulted in mixed chimerism.     

Non‐total body irradiation myeloablative conditioning with intravenous busulfan and cyclophosphamide in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for malignant infantile osteopetrosis

HSCT is the only curative treatment for MIOP. We prospectively investigated the outcome of HSCT using intravenous busulfan‐based conditioning regimen from 2008 to 2013. Nineteen patients (median age = 17 months) underwent transplantation from HLA‐matched related donors (n = 14), HLA‐haploidentical related donors (n = 2), partially matched cord blood donors (n = 2), and HLA‐matched unrelated donor (n = 1). Bone marrow (n = 9), peripheral blood (n = 8), and cord blood (n = 2) were used as stem cell sources. All but one patient demonstrated primary engraftment. Two patients experienced secondary graft failure. During the follow‐up period, three patients showed mixed chimerism (45%, 45%, and 70% of donor cells were engrafted in each one of these patients) but are disease free. Two‐yr OS and DFS were 84.2% and 73.7%, respectively. Improvement of visual acuity and partial reversal of mild conductive hearing loss occurred in two and four patients, respectively. The causes of death among three patients were infection, GvHD, and disease progression. In conclusion, due to major side effects of MIOP such as visual and hearing loss, early treatment using myeloablative conditioning without irradiation HSCT is suggested. The use of an HLA‐matched related donor seems to be highly successful in this regard. Also, according to results of our study, mixed chimerism may be sufficient to resolve symptoms of disease.     

Taste dysfunction in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: Clinical evaluation in children

The aim of this study was to determine the variability of TD in children undergoing HSCT. Cases were identified as consecutively enrolled children in the period January 2011–January 2013 among patients attending the Paediatric Department of Spedali Civili of Brescia and all candidates to HSCT. The TST was conducted in two phases: identification of threshold values and identification of perceived stimulus intensity. Sixteen sapid solutions with four flavors (sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, and quinine hydrochloride) at four different concentrations were administered in a random sequence. The same protocol was administered at different time intervals: before starting the conditioning therapy (T0), during the conditioning therapy (T1) (two times), and every three months (two times) after engraftment post‐HSCT (T2). A p‐value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Fifty‐one children (29 female and 22 male, mean age 5.2 ± 0.7 yr) were enrolled. Threshold value means for the four flavors increased during HSCT conditioning therapy (T1) (p < 0.01); intensity of perceived stimulus decreased during HSCT conditioning therapy (p < 0.01). At six months after engraftment (T2), both parameters had returned to starting values (T0). Changes in taste perception in children undergoing HSCT seem to occur especially during the conditioning therapy and resolve in about six months after engraftment post‐HSCT.     

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is associated with cure and durable remission of late‐onset primary isolated central nervous system hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

Primary isolated CNS presentation of HLH is exceedingly rare and typically associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We describe an adolescent patient with late‐onset, primary isolated CNS HLH and a compound heterozygous PRF1 mutation (c50delT (p.L17 fs); c.1229G>C (p.R410P)), not previously reported with this phenotype. He was successfully treated with allogeneic HSCT following a reduced‐intensity conditioning regimen, despite a high pre‐HSCT comorbidity index. Two years after transplant, he is alive and in disease remission. While patients with systemic HLH and active CNS disease have relatively poorer outcomes, a high index of suspicion may aid with early diagnosis of primary isolated CNS HLH; prompt treatment with HSCT may be associated with improved cure and durable remission of this rare disease.     

Successful treatment of refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis with pulmonary aspergillosis by reduced‐intensity conditioning cord blood transplantation

Hatakeyama N, Hori T, Yamamoto M, Inazawa N, Hirako Y, Tsutsumi H, Suzuki N. Successful treatment of refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis with pulmonary aspergillosis by reduced‐intensity conditioning cord blood transplantation.
Pediatr Transplantation 2010: 14: E4–E10. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Abstract: The prognosis of multisystem LCH in children with risk organ involvement is extremely poor when they fail to respond to conventional chemotherapy. In such patients, allogeneic SCT may produce complete and sustained remission; however, high‐dose myeloablative regimens are frequently associated with treatment‐related morbidity and mortality. More recently, allogeneic SCT following an RIC regimen has been performed as an alternative salvage approach. We describe a nine‐month‐old boy with refractory multisystem LCH with pulmonary aspergillosis who was successfully treated with reduced‐intensity cord blood transplantation.     

MHC class II deficiency cured by unrelated mismatched umbilical cord blood transplantation: Case report and review of 68 cases in the literature

Siepermann M, Gudowius S, Beltz K, Strier U, Feyen O, Troeger A, Göbel U, Laws HJ, Kögler G, Meisel R, Dilloo D, Niehues T. MHC class II deficiency cured by unrelated mismatched umbilical cord blood transplantation: Case report and review of 68 cases in the literature. Pediatr Transplantation 2011: 15: E80–E86. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: MHC class II deficiency is a rare and fatal form of primary combined immunodeficiency caused by a lack of T‐cell‐dependent humoral and cellular immune response to foreign antigens, which can only be cured by allogenic stem cell transplantation. In the literature search, we identified 68 cases of HSCT in MHC class II deficiency in the last 14 yr. Pre‐ and post‐transplant MHC class II deficiency is complicated by overwhelming viral infections, a high incidence of GvHD, and graft failure with a poor overall survival rate below 50%. We report an eight‐month‐old boy presenting with severe respiratory infections and chronic diarrhea, whose sister died at the age of four yr from septicemia. MHC II deficiency was caused by an RFXANK‐mutation and treated successfully by 4/6 mismatched unrelated CBT after a myeloablative conditioning regimen based on anti‐thymocyte globulin, busulfane, fludarabine, and cyclophosphamide. At present, our patient is well with full immune reconstitution 3 yr after CBT. CB may represent an alternative source of stem cells for children with MHC class II deficiency without a suitable donor.     

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia without favorable cytogenetics

Intensified chemotherapy, HSCT, and supportive care improve the survival of pediatric patients with AML. However, no consensus has been reached regarding the role of HSCT in patients without favorable cytogenetics. We evaluated OS and EFS according to prognostic factors that affect clinical outcomes, including cytogenetics risk group, conditioning regimen, donor type, disease status at the time of HSCT, and number of chemotherapy cycles prior to HSCT in 65 pediatric patients with AML without favorable cytogenetics who underwent HSCT. Fifteen of the 65 patients died: three of TRM and 12 of disease‐related mortality. The 5‐year OS and EFS were 78.0% and 72.0%, respectively, and the 5‐year cumulative relapse and TRM rates were 26.9% and 5.1%, respectively. Survival rates were not influenced by cytogenetic group (intermediated vs. poor), donor type (related vs. unrelated), transplant type (myeloablative vs. reduced‐intensity conditioning), or number of pretransplant chemotherapy cycles (≤3 vs. >3 cycles). The low TRM rate and encouraging outcomes suggest that HSCT may be a feasible treatment for pediatric patients with AML without favorable cytogenetics.     

From Severe Combined Immunodeficiency to Omenn syndrome after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a RAG1 deficient family

Background: Mutations in RAG genes cause a spectrum of severe immunodeficiencies ranging from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) T‐B‐NK+ to Omenn syndrome (OS) through intermediate phenotypes, even for the same alteration. Nowadays, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the unique curative treatment available. Methods: We describe three related patients from a Moroccan consanguineous family. Patient 1 developed at 1 month of age moderate eczematous dermatitis with eosinophilia, followed by infections and enteritis. He was transplanted and received reduced intensity conditioning regimen previous to HSCT. His brother, patient 2, was born preterm with a severe neonatal erythroderma, hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy. Patient 3, cousin of the two siblings, was also born preterm and fulfilled all criteria for classical OS. Immunological evaluation was performed and RAG genes were sequenced. Results: Immunological data from all three patients were very diversed, from T lymphopenia to marked lymphocytosis, and different degrees of eosinophilia and IgE levels. Non‐responder T cells and absent B cells were constant. All patients presented the same homozygous mutation in RAG1 gene (c.631delT). Patient 1 fully recovered both clinically and immunologically after HSCT. Two years later, he lost the accomplished lymphoid chimera and the disease relapsed as a classical OS, leading to patient’s death. Conclusions: This is the first report of a RAG1 deficient patient with a changed clinical and immunological phenotype from SCID to OS after HSCT. The use of a myeloablative conditioning regimen that eliminates reminiscent T cells might have improved patient’s outcome and it should be considered in similar cases.     

A successful unrelated peripheral blood stem cell transplantation with reduced intensity‐conditioning regimen in a patient with late‐onset purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency

PNP deficiency is a rare combined immunodeficiency with autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. The immunodeficiency is progressive with normal immune functions at birth, but then, T‐cell deficiency with variable B‐cell functions usually presents by the age of two yr. The only curative treatment for PNP deficiency is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Here, we present a 13‐yr‐old girl with late‐onset PNP deficiency. Despite many complications of infections, she was successfully transplanted with a reduced intensity‐conditioning regimen from an HLA‐identical unrelated donor.     

Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease—Challenges in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

We present our experience in the hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in two children diagnosed with Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial diseases. The first child underwent a haploidentical HSCT with posttransplant cyclophosphamide using a reduced intensity conditioning following which he had primary graft failure. He was subsequently found to have interferon‐γ1 receptor deficiency. He had immune reconstitution and is on antitubercular therapy. The second child diagnosed with IL12RB1 gene mutation underwent matched sibling donor HSCT with myeloablative conditioning following pretransplant immunosuppression with fludarabine and dexamethasone. He is 13 months post‐HSCT with complete and remains disease free.     

Neurological complications after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children,a single center experience

In this study, we retrospectively examined the data of children who underwent allo‐HSCT from HLA‐matched family donors. We analyzed the incidence, etiological factors, clinical characteristics, possible reasons, risk factors, and follow‐up of neurologic complications. BU‐based conditioning regimens were used in most of the cases (n = 62). The median duration of follow‐up for the 89 patients was 20 months (range 1–41 months). Eleven percent of transplanted children developed one or more neurological symptoms after HSCT with a median observation time of two months (range ?6 days to 18 months). The median age of the four girls and six boys with neurological complication was 13 yr (range 5.3–17.6 yr). Cylosporine A neurotoxicity was diagnosed in five children, four of them were PRES. The rest of complications were BU and lorazepam toxicity, an intracranial hemorrhage, a sinovenous thrombosis, and a transient ischemic attack during extracorpereal photopheresis. No difference was found between groups of neurological complication according to age, gender, diagnosis, hospitalization time, neutrophil and platelet engraftment time, stem cell source, and conditioning regimen, acute and chronic GVHD or VOD. Neurological complication was the cause of death in one patient (1.1%).     

Haploidentical stem cell transplantation as a salvage therapy for cord blood engraftment failure in a patient with Fanconi anemia

A 7‐year‐old male with Fanconi Anemia who developed primary graft failure following one antigen‐mismatched unrelated cord blood transplantation and a nonradiation‐based conditioning, underwent a second hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from his 2‐loci mismatched haploidentical father, using a nonradiation‐based regimen, 79 days after the first HSCT. A sustained hematological engraftment was achieved at 9 days post‐second HSCT. At 15 months post‐second HSCT; the patient demonstrated normal blood counts, sustained donor chimerism, and no evidence of GVHD. Haploidentical HSCTs as primary or secondary sources of stem cells, with appropriate T‐cell depletion, may be a readily available option in the absence of HLA‐matched related or unrelated donors. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2010;55:580–582. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Haploidentical parental hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in pediatric refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis

Children with MS‐LCH that fail to respond to conventional chemotherapy have poor outcomes. HSCT represents a potential salvage approach. It has been applied in over 50 cases in recent years. HSCT can achieve greater disease control than chemotherapy, but it carries a high risk of transplant‐related mortality; thus, the haploidentical parental HSCT is used infrequently in pediatric refractory LCH. We report the first successful haploidentical parental HSCT, with no T‐cell depletion, in two girls, aged 26 months and five months, with refractory MS‐LCH. The mothers were donors with 5/6 and 4/6 HLA matches, respectively. The conditioning regimen included busulfan + cyclophosphamide + etoposide + antithymocyte‐globulin ± fludarabine; the GVHD prophylaxis was based on cyclosporine + methotrexate ± mycophenolate‐mofetil ± zenapax. In both cases, the stem cells were sourced from peripheral blood and BM, which included CD34+ cells (13.17 × 10⁶/kg and 40.23 × 10⁶/kg, respectively). These patients survived and showed no signs of disease activity in 54‐ and 44‐month post‐HSCT follow‐ups. Our results indicated that, for patients that fail chemotherapy delivered early in the disease, but do not show organ dysfunction progression, it may be possible to achieve successful haploidentical parental HSCT with a strong myeloablative regimen.     

Squamous cell carcinoma development in Fanconi anemia patients who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

We examined SCC development of 24 FA patients, who received HSCT from HLA‐matched relatives. In our BMT center, we applied low‐dose CY + LFI + ATG (n:13) as conditioning regimen for FA patients between 1992 and 1999, and CY + BU + ATG (n:11) between 1999 and 2002. The aim of this study was to investigate SCC development after HSCT and examine features of the follow‐up patients. The 10‐year overall survival (OS) of the group with LFI + regimen was 43%, whereas the group without LFI regimen was 60%. There was a statistically significant relationship between infections (viral/bacterial) and overall survival (Fisher's Exact test P < .001). Five out of 13 long‐term (>1 year) surviving patients developed SCC in the HNSCC (n:4) and esophagus (n:2) region (a patient with oral SCC developed a second primary esophageal SCC). The SCC rate in our FA patients was 38%, four of the SCC patients were transplanted with irradiation used conditioning regimens, three of them had acuteGvHD (Grade II‐III), only one developed chronic GvHD. The interval between HSCT and SCC diagnosis was median 13 (range 6‐18) years, the age for the development of cancer was median 21 (range 15‐32) years. Survival after SCC was low, median 6 months (range 6‐12), due to delayed SCC diagnosis, tumor progression under therapy and treatment‐related toxicities of the usually reduced RT and/or CT.     

Safety of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in beta‐thalassemia patients with chronic hepatitis C infections treated at a pediatric center

The outcome of allogeneic HCT in patients previously infected with HCV is a widely debated topic and rarely reported in the pediatric and young adult age group given the small population of affected patients. New medications directly targeting HCV have induced virologic cures for over 90% of patients, and their use in the pretransplant setting may improve outcomes for patients infected with HCV. We describe two patients with transfusion‐dependent beta‐thalassemia major who underwent matched sibling donor bone marrow transplantation, one with a myeloablative regimen and one with a reduced‐intensity conditioning regimen. Allogeneic HCT appears feasible in patients with HCV infection that clear viremia prior to conditioning therapy and with a reduced‐intensity conditioning regimen. Further investigation is warranted to better define transplant risks in this population.