Improving BMT Outcomes: Younger Donors Shine in Another Study
A recent study investigated the impact of donor age on blood or marrow transplant (BMT) comparing younger and older haploidentical donor transplants to those using younger matched unrelated donors. Examining 775 patients who underwent reduced-intensity conditioning BMT to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy)-based graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prevention, the research found that young (under 35 years old) matched unrelated donors (MUD) achieved superior 3-year survival rates (68.5%)compared to older (35 years old or older) and younger (under 35 years old) haploidentical donor transplants . Even among haploidentical (half-matched) donors, the study revealed the significance of younger donors, who demonstrated a survival rate of 50.8% compared to 42.2% for their older counterparts (35 years old or older).
Notably, the study also explored the rates of relapse (disease coming back) and non-relapse mortality (NRM) (death not caused by relapse) among the different donor groups. While the risk of relapse did not significantly differ between the donor groups, the younger haploidentical donor group displayed an 11.0% NRM rate, and the older haploidentical donor group had an NRM rate of 22.0%, both higher than the 8% NRM rate in the younger MUD group. These findings underscore the importance of prioritizing younger donors in reducing the risk of post-transplant complications and providing a greater chance of survival for transplant recipients.
The study's implications are important as appropriate prioritization of donor options clearly impacts transplant outcomes.
Learn more by reviewing a comprehensive analysis and description of the study.