Impact of prior CPI in allo-HCT outcomes in Hodgkin lymphoma
Perales M-A, Awan FT, Boumendil A, et al. Outcomes of Allogeneic HCT in Hodgkin Lymphoma in the Era of Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Joint CIBMTR and EBMT Analysis. Blood. 2025; (doi: 0.1182/blood.2024027197).
Research upholds the continued clinical value of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma at a time when checkpoint inhibitors (CPIs) are effectively and routinely used in this setting. Questions have arisen over whether a history of CPI worsens post-transplant complications, especially graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and mediates unfavorable outcomes. To learn more, investigators used data from two key registries — the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) — to compare allo-HCT outcomes in Hodgkin patients who did or did not receive CPI before undergoing their first transplant between 2008 and 2023. Among 2,186 adult patients in the sample, 27% had past exposure to CPI, which was associated with a lower incidence of relapse and better rate of progression-free survival compared with CPI-naive patients. Improved overall survival, plus lower-grade II-IV acute GVHD and chronic GVHD, were observed in patients with prior CPI who also received GVHD prophylaxis with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (55.8% of the cohort).