This is a phase II, open-label, non-randomized, prospective study of haploidentical transplantation using KIR-favorable donors for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). The relationship of KIR2DL1 polymorphisms to survival in children with these diseases undergoing any approach to allogeneic HCT during the study time frame will also be determined.
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) using matched related and unrelated donors is well-accepted therapy for children with subtypes of high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). For the 40-50% of children who do not have matched donors available, HCT approaches have varied by center and regional preferences. HCT physicians in France and North America tend to use human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched umbilical cord blood (UCB), while those in many large centers in Germany, parts of Asia, and selected US centers favor HLA-haploidentical donors. Both approaches have improved significantly through the years for a variety of reasons, including better supportive care, cell processing techniques that now deliver more consistently high-quality products, understanding of the importance of cell dose, and key modifications of preparative and immunosuppressive regimens. Both stem cell sources offer distinct advantages and disadvantages. T-cell-depleted haploidentical approaches with killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) mismatches have been shown to lead to less relapse in patients with AML13 and, in some studies, children with ALL as well. Disadvantages to this approach have been vulnerability to viral infection and the requirement for an ex vivo T-cell depletion procedure that is currently under IND. Cord blood is readily available and is permissive of some degree of HLA mismatch, but current studies show no advantage in survival compared with matched unrelated donors. Recently, a randomized study of one vs. two UCB units based on a hypothesis of decreased relapse incidence with two units resulted in equivalent outcomes in both arms. Neutrophil engraftment and immune recovery after UCB transplantation is relatively slow, leading to a higher risk of transplant-related mortality; in addition, larger patients require two cord units, dramatically increasing the cost of stem cell procurement. No direct comparisons of these two stem cell sources (haploidentical vs. UCB) have been performed in pediatric patients. Recently, investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital published excellent outcomes using haploidentical donors with grafts depleted for CD3+ cells by an ex vivo Miltenyi CliniMACS system. Their recent cohort of AML and ALL patients treated without total body irradiation (TBI) had a 5-year survival of 88±15% in 19 consecutive patients, with 17 surviving long-term and disease-free and only 2 patients died of progressive leukemia. These results compared favorably with the 5-year survival of 70±38% for transplantations using matched siblings and 61±17% for matched unrelated donors treated with identical leukemia protocols with indications for transplantation defined a priori. These preliminary results suggest that a strategy of using favorable KIR-mismatched haploidentical transplantation may lead to a better outcome than other alternative donor approaches without the side effects of TBI. This protocol is a phase II trial seeking to establish the feasibility and preliminary outcomes with this approach in a multi-institutional setting. In addition to KIR-HLA matching, KIR allele polymorphism may also affect transplant outcomes.Recent data from St. Jude showed that in 312 pediatric HCTs, the patients who received a donor graft containing the functionally stronger KIR2DL1 allele with arginine at amino acid position 245 (KIR2DL1-R245) had better survival (p=0.0028) and a lower relapse rate (p=0.022) than those who received a donor graft that contained only the functionally weaker KIR2DL1 allele with cysteine at the same position (KIR2DL1-C245). Patients who received a KIR2DL1-R245-positive graft with an HLA-C receptor-ligand mismatch had the best survival (p=0.00004) and lowest risk of leukemia relapse (p=0.005). Thus, both KIR-HLA matching and KIR allele polymorphism have prognostic value. We will attempt to prospectively confirm these results in this multicenter trial.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
50
Graft ex vivo depleted of T cell receptor (TCR) αβ+CD3+/CD19+ cells
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States
Children's Hospital Oakland
Oakland, California, United States
Stanford University Medical Center
Palo Alto, California, United States
Rady Children's Hospital
San Diego, California, United States
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, California, United States
Lurie Children's Hospital
Chicago, Illinois, United States
New York Medical Center
Valhalla, New York, United States
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Vanderbilt University - Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
University of Utah, Primary Children's Hospital
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
...and 1 more locations
Disease free survival at 1 year post HCT
Time frame: 1 year
1 yr disease free survival of patients transplanted with donors homozygous for KIR2DL1-C245 will be compared to patients with donors hetero- or homozygous for KIRD2DL1-R245 polymorphisms
Time frame: 1 year
1- and 2-year overall survival (OS) for children undergoing TCR αβ+CD3+/CD19+ cell depleted favorably KIR-mismatched haplo-HCT
Time frame: 2 years
Cumulative incidence of neutrophil and platelet engraftment, primary and secondary rejection, NTM, and relapse in KIR favorable haplo-HCT recipients
Time frame: 1 year
Cumulative incidence of overall grades II-IV and III-IV acute GVHD in KIR favorable haplo-HCT recipients
Time frame: 5 years
Compare the 2-year DFS and OS of patients transplanted using favorably KIR-mismatched haplo-HCT with other ALL, AML, and MDS patients concurrently transplanted using other approaches at the participating centers.
Time frame: 1 year
Compare the 2-year DFS and OS of patients transplanted using favorably KIR-mismatched haplo-HCT with other ALL, AML, and MDS patients concurrently transplanted using 4/6 and 5/6 HLA-matched cord blood reported to the CIBMTR
Time frame: 1 year
Test sensitivity of flow cytometry MRD for all patients; in ALL patients, compare flow cytometry MRD with IgH and TCR next-generation-sequencing (NGS) MRD pre- and post-HCT for predicting relapse, DFS, and OS in children undergoing allog-HCT.
Time frame: 1 year
To compare costs of transplantation using favorably KIR-mismatched haplo-HCT with patients receiving alternative donor transplantation at centers participating in the trial
Time frame: 1 year
1- and 2-year event free survival (DFS) for children undergoing TCR αβ+CD3+/CD19+ cell depleted favorably KIR-mismatched haplo-HCT
Time frame: 2 years
Cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD in KIR favorable haplo-HCT recipients.
Time frame: 1 year
Cumulative incidence of mild, moderate, and severe cGVHD
Time frame: 1 year
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