Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is the last option for long-term survival for patients with chemotherapy-refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). By using the Japanese nationwide registry data, we analyzed 6927 adults with AML having undergone first allogeneic HCT while not in complete remission (CR) between 2001 and 2020. The 5-year overall survival (OS), relapse, and non-relapse mortality (NRM) rates were 23%, 53%, and 27%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified several factors predictive of OS mainly through their effects on relapse (cytogenetics, percentage of blasts in the peripheral blood, and transplantation year) and NRM (age, sex, and performance status). As regards disease status, relapsed disease was associated with a higher risk of overall mortality than primary induction failure (PIF). The shorter duration of the first CR increased the risks of relapse and overall mortality for the relapsed group, and the longer time from diagnosis to transplantation did so for the PIF group. Our experience compiled over the past two decades demonstrated that >20% of patients still enjoy long-term survival with allogeneic HCT performed during non-CR and identified those less likely to benefit from allogeneic HCT. Future efforts are needed to reduce the risk of posttransplant relapse in these patients.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.