Randomized Double-Blind Study of the Safety and Immunogenicity of Standard-Dose Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine versus High-Dose Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine in Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Patients.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) survivors are less likely than matched healthy controls to mount a strong immune response to trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV). High-dose (HD) or standard-dose (SD) TIV were given to adult HCT subjects 18 years or older at least 6 months after transplantation. Subjects were randomized 2:1 to receive either the HD (60 μg hemagglutinin [HA]/strain/dose) or the SD (15 μg HA/strain/dose) TIV.

Geographic distance is not associated with inferior outcome when using long-term transplant clinic strategy.

The optimal healthcare model for follow-up of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients after day 100 is not clear. We previously demonstrated that longitudinal follow-up at the transplant center using a multidisciplinary approach is associated with superior survival. Recent data suggest that increased distance from the transplant center is associated with inferior survival.

New allergies after cord blood transplantation.

Background Aims: Umbilical cord blood transplantation (CBT) is an effective treatment for benign and malignant diseases. Late effects of CBT are not well described in the literature. In the present study, we present our experience of new-onset allergies in long-term survivors after CBT.

Allo-SCT for high-risk AML-CR1 in the molecular era: impact of FLT3/ITD outweighs the conventional markers.

Seventy-nine patients with AML in CR1 received allo-SCT between May 2006 and May 2011, and the prognostic impact of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3/internal tandem duplication (FLT3/ITD) mutation was evaluated in the context of other clinical prognostic factors. Patients with FLT3/ITD + AML had significantly inferior DFS (2-year DFS: 19% vs 64%, P = 0.0027), increased risk of relapse (1-year: 59% vs 19%, P = 0.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with development of ocular GVHD defined by NIH consensus criteria.

We studied 172 patients for development of ocular graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) from 2002 to 2009. Ocular GVHD was diagnosed in 60 patients (38%), with 27 (16%) being diagnosed at days 100 and 33 (23%) beyond day 100 for a 2-year cumulative incidence of 35% (95% confidence interval (CI), 28-43). The positive and negative predictive values of a Schirmer I test score (using 5 mm as a cutoff) in predicting ocular GVHD (day 100) were 41 and 82%, respectively.

Extracorporeal photopheresis in patients with refractory bronchiolitis obliterans developing after allo-SCT.

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has been shown to be a promising treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease; however, only a few case reports are available that examine the effectiveness of ECP for bronchiolitis obliterans (BO) after allo-SCT. Because of the poor response to traditional therapies, ECP has been explored as a possible therapeutic option for severe BO after allo-SCT. Nine patients received ECP between July 2008 and August 2009 after a median follow-up of 23 months (range 9-93 months) post transplant.