Abstract
Hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) has become a curative therapeutic strategy for several malignant and nonmalignant diseases. We report the comprehensive results of the first 10 years of experience in HSCT from the two major BMT units in Lebanon: Makassed University Hospital and the American University of Beirut Medical Center. The median and the 5-year overall survival (OS) were 97 months and 58%, respectively, for the 84 patients who received allogeneic HSCT, and 60 months and 50%, respectively, for the 228 patients who received autologous BMT. The results for myeloablative allogeneic transplantation were as follows: AML (n=28, 5-year OS 58%, 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) 48%), CML (n=9, 5-year OS 66%, 5-year DFS 52%), ALL (n=13, 2-year OS 10%, 2-year DFS 10%), thalassemia (n=10, 5-year transfusion-free survival 67%). The results for autologous HSCT were as follows: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in relapse (n=37, 5-year OS 68%, 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) 65%), Hodgkin's lymphoma (n=55, 5-year OS 55%, 5-year PFS 36%), and first-line multiple myeloma (n=71, 5-year OS 53%, 5-year PFS 24%). For allogeneic transplanted patients, the cumulative TRM was 23% and the incidence of acute GVHD was 23%. For autografted patients, TRM was 2.6%. These results indicate that despite the relatively low socioeconomic status of the Lebanese population, both allogeneic and autologous HSCT are feasible with outcomes similar to developed countries.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the following hematologists and oncologists for referring patients for transplantation: Dany Abi-Gerges, Yaser Abu-Murad, Riad Akoum, Nizar Bitar, Aref Chehal, Georges Chahine, Nabil Chamseddine, Azzam Dandachi, Mousa Dhaini, Abdul-Rahman El-Kinge, Nagi El-Saghir, Fadi Farhat, Marwan Ghosn, Mohammad Haidar, Khaled Ibrahim, Adlette Inati, Hassan Jaafar, Usama Jradi, Adel Kadri, Nader Kasem, Joseph Kattan, Christina Khater, Claudia Khayyat, Rahif Jalloul, Jawad Makarem, Walid Mukaddem, Ghazi Nsouli, Michael Saade, Ali Shamseddine, Ali Taher, Paul-Henri Tourbey, Elias Tweini, Mahmoud Wehbe and Azzam Ziade. We also thank doctors Elizabeth Baz, Rami Mahfouz, Joud Haidar, Ghazi Zaatari and Ms Nabila Kreidieh for their help in stem cell collection and preservation. We also thank the dedicated nursing staff and paramedical personnel in both centers.
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Bazarbachi, A., Hatoum, H., Mugharbel, A. et al. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Lebanon: first comprehensive report. Bone Marrow Transplant 42 (Suppl 1), S96–S102 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2008.128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2008.128
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