Absence of influence of prior treatment with interferon on the outcome of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for chronic myeloid leukemia.

Timing of transplantation in the chronic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and previous treatment with interferon remains controversial. We have tried to discover what influence pretreatment with interferon alpha (IFN-A) has on the results of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for CML patients treated in a single institution. Fifty-one consecutive patients with chronic phase Ph-positive CML who received an allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from a HLA-identical familial donor were evaluated. Thirty had been treated with IFN-A (IFN+ group) prior to BMT and twenty-one had not (IFN- group). Both groups were homogeneous for clinical characteristics such as age, sex, previous chemotherapy, disease status, and time from diagnosis to transplant. No difference was found in neutrophil and platelet count recovery between the IFN+ and IFN- group. The incidence of acute and chronic GVHD, VOD and severe mucositis was not significantly different. Relapse and both overall survival and DFS were similar for both groups. No adverse effects of prior IFN exposure on the outcome of HLA-identical sibling donor BMT for chronic phase CML patients were found in this study.