The addition of sirolimus to the graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis regimen in reduced intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation for lymphoma: a multicentre randomized trial.

Inhibition of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway has clinical activity in lymphoma. The mTOR inhibitor sirolimus has been used in the prevention and treatment of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A retrospective study suggested that patients with lymphoma undergoing reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) HSCT who received sirolimus as part of their GVHD prophylaxis regimen had a lower rate of relapse.

Does iron overload really matter in stem cell transplantation?

A growing body of evidence suggests that iron overload is associated with inferior outcomes after myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, all of those studies used surrogate markers of iron overload, especially serum ferritin, and most had a retrospective design. We conducted a prospective observational study in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome or acute leukemia undergoing myeloablative HSCT.

Iron overload in patients with acute leukemia or MDS undergoing myeloablative stem cell transplantation.

Patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) commonly have an elevated serum ferritin prior to HSCT, which has been associated with increased mortality after transplantation. This has led to the suggestion that iron overload is common and deleterious in this patient population. However, the relationship between serum ferritin and parenchymal iron overload in such patients is unknown.