Peripheral Blood Haploidentical Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation in Older Adults with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes Demonstrates Long Term Survival, Results from Australia and New Zealand Transplant and Cellular Therapies.

There is a limited body of evidence for haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (haplo-HSCT) in older patients. Previous studies have used a high proportion of bone marrow-derived grafts and a variety of conditioning regimens. In Australia and New Zealand, haplo-HCST is predominantly performed using peripheral blood (PB) with universal use of post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy).

Incidence of Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome/Veno-Occlusive Disease and Treatment with Defibrotide in Allogeneic Transplantation: A Multicenter Australasian Registry Study.

Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome/veno-occlusive disease (SOS/VOD) is an established complication in patients undergoing allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Defibrotide is an effective and safe pharmacologic option for treating diagnosed SOS/VOD. By exploring data provided to the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry (ABMTRR) by centers in Australia and New Zealand, this study aimed to describe the incidence of SOS/VOD and patterns of defibrotide use from 2016 to 2020.

Australia and New Zealand Transplant and Cellular Therapies (ANZTCT) position statement: COVID-19 management in patients with haemopoietic stem cell transplant and chimeric antigen receptor T cell.

Patients with post-haemopoietic stem cell transplant or chimeric antigen receptor T -cell (CAR-T) therapy face a significant risk of morbidity and mortality from coronavirus disease 2019 because of their immunosuppressed state. As case numbers in Australia and New Zealand continue to rise, guidance on management in this high-risk population is needed. Whilst we have learned much from international colleagues who faced high infection rates early in the pandemic, guidance relevant to local health system structures, medication availability and emerging therapies is essential to equip physicians to manage our patients optimally.

Good Engraftment but Quality and Donor Concerns for Cryopreserved Hemopoietic Progenitor Cell Products Collected During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Changes to donor availability, collection center capacity, and travel restrictions during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic led to routine cryopreservation of most unrelated donor products for hematopoietic transplantation prior to the recipient commencing the conditioning regimen. We investigated the effect of this change on unrelated donor product quality and clinical outcomes. Product information was requested from transplantation centers in Australia and New Zealand and clinical outcome data from the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry (ABMTRR).

Australia and New Zealand Transplant and Cellular Therapies COVID-19 vaccination consensus position statement.

Australia and New Zealand have achieved excellent community control of COVID-19 infection. In light of the imminent COVID-19 vaccination roll out in both countries, representatives of all adult and paediatric allogeneic bone marrow transplant and cellular therapy (TCT) centres as well as representatives from autologous transplant only centres in Australia and New Zealand collaborated with infectious diseases specialists with expertise in TCT on this consensus position statement regarding COVID-19 vaccination in TCT patients in Australia and New Zealand. It is our recommendation that TCT patients, should have expedited access to high-efficacy COVID-19 vaccines given that these patients are at high risk of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 infection.

Australasian Trends in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Myelofibrosis in the Molecular Era: A Retrospective Analysis from the Australasian Bone Marrow Transplant Recipient Registry.

To review the updated trends of national practice and outcomes in transplantation to treat myelofibrosis (MF), we retrospectively evaluated 142 patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for primary (n = 94) or secondary (n = 48) MF at an Australian/New Zealand transplantation center between 2006 and 2017. The median duration of follow-up was 51.8 months (range, 3.

Association between P2X7 Polymorphisms and Post-Transplant Outcomes in Allogeneic Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) is a highly effective treatment method for haematologic malignancies. However, infection of acute organ dysfunction and graft versus host disease (GVHD) impact negatively on patient outcomes. Pre-transplant conditioning regimes are associated with high levels of immunogenic cell death and the release of extracellular ATP, which binds to the P2X7 receptor.

Third-generation anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cells incorporating a TLR2 domain for relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma: a phase I clinical trial protocol (ENABLE).

Introduction: Autologous T-cells transduced to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) directed against CD19 elicit high response rates in relapsed or refractory (r/r) B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL). However, r/r B-NHL remissions are durable in fewer than half of recipients of second-generation CAR T-cells. Third-generation (3G) CARs employ two costimulatory domains, resulting in improved CAR T-cell efficacy in vitro and in animal models in vivo.

The role of a specialist bridging service. A New Zealand prospective study of 600 patients.

Background: A proposition for the Wellington hospital thrombosis service to manage periprocedure anticoagulation bridging was made after a number of cancellations and key incidents were caused by lack of a consistent management approach. We provided individual bridging assessments, with implementation, communication, and education. The only funded anticoagulants in New Zealand at that time were dabigatran, warfarin, and enoxaparin.

Natural killer receptor ligand expression on acute myeloid leukemia impacts survival and relapse after chemotherapy.

Natural killer (NKs) cells provide rapid responses to viral-infected and malignant cells, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts. The balance among inhibitory and activating signals, delivered by multiple interactions between ligands on target cells and NK receptors, determines the posture of the NK cell response to either one of target cell elimination or tolerance. The aim of this work was to study the influence of the differential expression of activating and inhibitory NK receptor ligands (NKRLs) by leukemic blasts on clinical outcome in newly diagnosed AML patients.

Double umbilical cord blood transplant is effective therapy for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.

A sub-group of patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) who relapse after autologous stem cell transplant can achieve long-term disease-free-survival after allogeneic stem cell transplant (alloSCT). There is limited information regarding the tolerability and efficacy of double umbilical cord blood transplant (dUCBT) for relapsed/refractory HL. We analyzed 27 consecutive, heavily pre-treated patients receiving dUCBT for relapsed/refractory HL at two centers from 2003-2014.