[Comparison of different styles of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as first-line treatment treated with severe aplastic anemia in children and adolescents]

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) from different donors as first-line treatment for children and adolescents with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) . Methods: The clinical data of 79 children and adolescents with SAA diagnosed from January 2013 to December 2016 in Henan Province were retrospectively analyzed. There were 50 males and 29 females, with a median age of 14(4-18) years. 40 cases received matched sibling transplantation (MSD-HSCT), 17 with unrelated donor transplantation (UD-HSCT), and 22 with haploidentical transplantation (haplo-HSCT). Results: The comparison of MSD-HSCT, UD-HSCT, haplo-HSCT groups was conducted and the median times of neutrophils engraftment were statistically significant [12(9-25) d, 14(10-22) d, 16(11-26) d, respectively (χ²=13.302, P=0.001)], but no difference in+30 d engraftment rate [97.3%(36/37), 100%(15/15), 100%(20/20), χ²=0.959, P=0.619]. The median times of PLT engraftment were not statistically significant [14(6-34)d, 16(7-32)d, 19(10-34)d, respectively, χ²=5.892, P=0.053], and the +30 d engraftment rate had no difference [97.3%(36/37), 100%(15/15), 100%(20/20), χ²=0.959, P=0.619]. The post-transplant infection rate showed no statistically significance [35.0% (14/40), 29.4% (5/17), 45.5% (10/22), χ²=1.158, P=0.560], as well as the incidences of aGVHD, grade III/IV aGVHD and cGVHD(χ²=0.230, P=0.891; χ²=2.628, P=0.269; χ²=3.187, P=0.203). The two-years OS rate was not statistically significant respectively [(77.1±6.7)%, (70.6±11.1)%, (77.3±8.9)%, χ²=0.330, P=0.845]. Severe post-transplant infection (RR=4.617, P=0.009), grade Ⅲ/Ⅳ aGVHD (RR=2.707, P=0.048) were independent risk factors for OS. Conclusion: The overall efficacy of MSD-HSCT, UD-HSCT and haplo-HSCT as first-line therapy for children and adolescents with SAA/VSAA is comparable.