Abstract
A conditioning regimen is an essential prerequisite of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). However, the optimal conditioning intensity for a patient may be difficult to establish. This study aimed to identify optimal conditioning intensity (reduced-intensity conditioning regimen [RIC] or myeloablative conditioning regimen [MAC]) for patients with MDS. Overall, 2567 patients with MDS who received their first HCT between 2009 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into a training cohort and a validation cohort. Using a machine learning-based model, we developed a benefit score for RIC in the training cohort. The validation cohort was divided into a high-score and a low-score group, based on the median benefit score. The endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS). The benefit score for RIC was developed from nine baseline variables in the training cohort. In the validation cohort, the hazard ratios of the PFS in the RIC group compared to the MAC group were 0.65 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.48–0.90, P = 0.009) in the high-score group and 1.36 (95% CI: 1.06–1.75, P = 0.017) in the low-score group (P for interaction < 0.001). Machine-learning-based scoring can be useful for the identification of optimal conditioning regimens for patients with MDS.
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Data availability
The data used in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank all the physicians and data managers at the centers who contributed to the collection of data on transplantation for the Japanese Data Center for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Transplant Registry Unified Management Program 2. We express our gratitude to the Japan Society of Clinical Research for their support.
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YS designed the study, developed the models, performed the statistical analysis, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Sho Komukai and TK contributed to the development of the model and data analysis. Sho Komukai, TK, TS, Shuhei Kurosawa, and KI critically reviewed the data analysis and manuscript. All the other authors contributed to data collection. All the authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Shimomura, Y., Komukai, S., Kitamura, T. et al. Identifying the optimal conditioning intensity for stem cell transplantation in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome: a machine learning analysis. Bone Marrow Transplant 58, 186–194 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-022-01871-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41409-022-01871-8