Allogeneic stem cell transplantation may overcome the adverse impact of myelofibrosis on the prognosis of myelodysplastic syndrome

Purpose Myelofibrosis (MF) may serve as a poor prognostic factor in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). This study explored the impact of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) on the outcome of MDS patients with MF. Patients and Methods Three hundred and sixteen MDS patients were enrolled in this retrospective study. Based on the degree of MF, we divided the patients into 2 groups: grade 0–1 (MF-0/1) and grade 2–3 (MF-2/3) groups. The clinical features, treatments, and prognosis in MDS patients with MF were analyzed. Results Forty-three (13.6%) patients were diagnosed as MF-2/3. Complex karyotypes were more common in the MF-2/3 compared to MF-0/1 groups ( P = 0.002). The overall response rate (ORR) of cytoreduction was 49.0%, along with 53.3% in the MF-0/1 and 16.7% in MF-2/3 groups ( P = 0.017). In total, 141 patients underwent allo-HSCT, including 121 in the MF-0/1 and 20 in MF-2/3 groups. The median time to neutrophil reconstruction was 12 (range: 7–34) and 14 (range: 10–45) days ( P = 0.005), and platelet reconstruction was 14 (range: 8–68) and 18 (range: 8–65) days ( P = 0.045) in the MF-0/1 and MF-2/3 groups, respectively. However, the cumulative incidence of neutrophil and platelet engraftment achieved at day + 30 was not different between the two groups ( P = 0.107, P = 0.303, respectively). Non-relapse mortality, relapse, and acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease were similar between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Among patients with allo-HSCT, the 2-year overall survival (OS) was 68.5% (95% CI: 60.1–76.9%) and 68.4% (95% CI: 47.4–89.4%) in the MF-0/1 and MF-2/3 groups, respectively, ( P = 0.636). Among patients without allo-HSCT, the 2-year OS was 49.9% (95% CI: 40.7–59.1%) and 19.2% (95% CI: 0–39.6%) in the MF-0/1 and MF-2/3 groups, respectively, ( P = 0.002). In multivariate cox analysis, complex karyotype was an unfavorable factor for relapse (HR, 4.16; P = 0.006), disease-free survival (DFS) (HR, 2.16; P = 0.020), and OS (HR, 2.47; P = 0.009) post-transplantation. Conclusion Patients with MF-2/3 have more complex karyotypes and lower ORR of cytoreduction in MDS. Among patients without allo-HSCT, patients with MF-2/3 have a worse prognosis than those with MF-0/1. However, the adverse impact of MF on prognosis may be overcome by allo-HSCT.