Treatment dilemmas in asymptomatic children with primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.
Publication/Presentation Date
11-8-2018
Abstract
Asymptomatic carriers (ACs) of pathogenic biallelic mutations in causative genes for primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) are at high risk of developing life-threatening HLH, which requires allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to be cured. There are no guidelines on the management of these asymptomatic patients. We analyzed the outcomes of pairs of index cases (ICs) and subsequently diagnosed asymptomatic family members carrying the same genetic defect. We collected data from 22 HSCT centers worldwide. Sixty-four children were evaluable. ICs presented with HLH at a median age of 16 months. Seven of 32 ICs died during first-line therapy, and 2 are alive after chemotherapy only. In all, 23/32 underwent HSCT, and 16 of them are alive. At a median follow-up of 36 months from diagnosis, 18/32 ICs are alive. Median age of ACs at diagnosis was 5 months. Ten of 32 ACs activated HLH while being observed, and all underwent HSCT: 6/10 are alive and in complete remission (CR). 22/32 ACs remained asymptomatic, and 6/22 have received no treatment and are in CR at a median follow-up of 39 months. Sixteen of 22 underwent preemptive HSCT: 15/16 are alive and in CR. Eight-year probability of overall survival (pOS) in ACs who did not have activated HLH was significantly higher than that in ICs (95% vs 45%;
Volume
132
Issue
19
First Page
2088
Last Page
2096
ISSN
1528-0020
Published In/Presented At
Lucchini, G., Marsh, R., Gilmour, K., Worth, A., Nademi, Z., Rao, A., … Rao, K. (2018). Treatment dilemmas in asymptomatic children with primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Blood, 132(19), 2088–2096. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2018-01-827485
Disciplines
Hematology | Medicine and Health Sciences | Pediatrics
PubMedID
30104219
Peer Reviewed for front end display
Peer-Reviewed
Department(s)
Department of Pediatrics
Document Type
Article