Effect of remission status and induction chemotherapy regimen on outcome of autologous stem cell transplantation for mantle cell lymphoma

We analysed the outcomes of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) following high-dose therapy with respect to remission status at the time of transplantation and induction regimen used in 56 consecutive patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Twenty-one patients received induction chemotherapy with HyperCVAD with or without rituximab (+/- R) followed by ASCT in first complete or partial remission (CR1/PR1), 15 received CHOP (+/- R) followed by ASCT in CR1/PR1 and 20 received ASCT following disease progression. Estimates of overall and progression-free survival (PFS) at 3 years among patients transplanted in CR1/PR1 were 93% and 63% compared with 46% and 36% for patients transplanted with relapsed/refractory disease, respectively. The hazard of mortality among patients transplanted with relapsed/refractory disease was 6.09 times that of patients transplanted in CR1/PR1 (P=0.006). Patients in the CHOP (+/- R) group had a higher risk of failure for PFS compared with patients in the HyperCVAD (+/- R) group, though the difference did not reach statistical significance (hazard ratio 3.67, P=0.11). These results suggest that ASCT in CR1/PR1 leads to improved survival outcomes for patients with MCL compared to ASCT with relapsed/refractory disease, and a HyperCVAD (+/- R) induction regimen may be associated with an improved PFS among patients transplanted in CR1/PR1.