Study Indicates Late Effects in Mantle Cell Lymphoma Treatment With or Without Transplantation Have Minimal Impact

Results from a recent study indicated that mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients have higher relative risks of respiratory, blood, and infectious disease compared to healthy comparators and that late effects varied very little by treatment with or without transplantation (Blood Adv. 2022; bloodadvances.2022007241. doi:10.1182/bloodadvances.2022007241).

Sara Ekberg (Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Clinical and Experimental Oncology, Uppsala University and Uppsala Akademiska Hospital, Sweden) and colleagues indicated that studies on late effects in MCL patients are progressively critical, as survival is improving and novel targeted drugs are being developed; however, knowledge about late effects is inadequate.

As a result, the researchers conducted a population-based study to illustrate the magnitude and panorama of late effects among patients treated with or without high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (HD-ASCT).

The study cohort included all MCL patients, recorded in the Swedish Lymphoma Register, 18-69 years old, diagnosed 2000-14 (N = 620; treated with HD-ASCT, n = 247) and 1:10 matched healthy comparators. Patients and comparators were followed via the national Patient Register and Cause-of-Death Register, from 12 months after diagnosis/matching until December 2017.

Incidence rate ratios of numbers of outpatient visits, hospitalizations, and bed days were projected utilizing negative binomial regression models. In relation to the matched comparators, the rate of specialist and hospital visits was considerably greater among MCL patients (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8-2.2 and 7.2, 95% CI: 6.3-8.3, respectively). MCL patients had especially high relative risks of infectious, respiratory, and blood disorders.

Results revealed that within this observation period, no difference in rate of these complications, including secondary neoplasms, was observed between HD-ASCT and non-HD-ASCT treated patients.

“The majority of patients died from their lymphoma and not from another cause or treatment complication,” the study states. “Taken together, our results imply that the vast majority of the post-treatment healthcare needs are related to the lymphoma disease itself, thus, indicating the need for more efficient treatment options.”