Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide is associated with increased bacterial infections

Abstract

Post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) is increasingly used to reduce graft-versus-host disease after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT); however, it might be associated with more infections. All patients who were ≥2 years old, receiving haploidentical or matched sibling donor (Sib) HCT for acute leukemias or myelodysplastic syndrome, and either calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)- or PTCy-based GVHD prophylaxis [Haploidentical HCT with PTCy (HaploCy), 757; Sibling with PTCy (SibCy), 403; Sibling with CNI-based (SibCNI), 1605] were included. Most bacterial infections occurred within the first 100 days; 953 patients (34.5%) had at least 1 infection and 352 patients (13%) had ≥2 infections. Patients receiving PTCy had a greater incidence of bacterial infections by day 180 [HaploCy 46%; SibCy 48%; SibCNI 35%; p < 0.001]. Compared with the SibCNI without infection cohort, 1.99-fold, 3.33-fold, 2.78-fold, and 2.53-fold increased TRM was seen for the HaploCy cohort without infection and HaploCy, SibCy, and SibCNI cohorts with infection, respectively. Bacterial infections increased mortality [HaploCy (HR1.84, 99% CI: 1.45-2.33, p < 0.0001), SibCy cohort (HR,1.68, 99% CI: 1.30-2.19, p < 0.0001), and SibCNI cohort (HR,1.76, 99% CI: 1.43-2.16, p < 0.0001). PTCy was associated with increased bacterial infections regardless of donor, and bacterial infections were associated with increased mortality irrespective of GVHD prophylaxis. Patients receiving PTCy should be monitored carefully for bacterial infections following PTCy.