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Long-Term Outcomes After aHSCT for Autoimmune Disease

Kirgizov K, Greco R, Badoglio M, et al. Late Complications After Autologous HSCT for Autoimmune Diseases: A Retrospective Survey From the Autoimmune Diseases Working Party (ADWP), Transplant Complications Working Party (TCWP) and Paediatric Diseases Working Party (PDWP) of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT). Bone Marrow Transplantation. 2026; (doi: 10.1038/s41409-026-02983-1).

A retrospective European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) registry study characterized the late effects of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT) for severe autoimmune disease (AD). The dataset covered 579 patients from EBMT centers who underwent transplantation between 1997 and 2016 for ADs including but not limited to Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, systemic sclerosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. According to the research team, aHSCT is associated with multiple late complications, ranging from osteoporosis and thyroid dysfunction to gonadal dysfunction and more. At 10 years post-procedure, the cumulative incidence of late effects reached 16.2% for endocrine complications, 14.7% for cardiovascular problems, 10.3% for secondary ADs, and 4.1% for new, subsequent cancers. Progression-free survival settled at 40.1% at 10 years, while overall survival was 83.5% and non-relapse mortality landed at 5.0%. The findings, which also compared incidence rates between different AD indications and tracked how early or late they presented, underscore the importance of screening, monitoring, and treating late effects that develop post-aHSCT, the authors concluded.

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