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Pediatric Transplants

Improved outcome of refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis in children with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Japan

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 45, pages 901–906 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) that is refractory to conventional chemotherapy has a poor outcome. Hematopoietic stem cell transplanta tion (SCT) is a promising approach for refractory LCH because of its immunomodulatory effect. In this study, the outcomes of children with refractory LCH undergoing SCT in Japan were analyzed. Between November 1995 and March 2007, 15 children younger than 15 years (9 males, 6 females) with refractory LCH underwent SCT. The patients’ median age at diagnosis was 8 months (range, 28 days to 28 months), and all had failed conventional chemotherapy. The median age at SCT was 23 months (range, 13–178 months). Nine had risk organ involvement at diagnosis, including liver (n=6), spleen (n=5), lung (n=5), and/or hematopoietic system (n=4). For SCT, a myeloablative regimen was used for 10 patients, and a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen (RIC) was used for five. The donor source varied among the patients, but allogeneic cord blood was primarily used (n=10). Subsequently, 11 of 15 patients have survived with no evidence of disease, with a 10-year overall survival (OS) rate (median±standard error) of 73.3±11.4%. The 10-year OS rate of nine patients with risk organ involvement at diagnosis was 55.6±16.6%, whereas six without risk organ involvement have all survived with no evidence of disease (P=0.07). These results indicate that SCT is promising as a salvage approach for children with refractory LCH.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the following for providing information on their patients: Hama A (Nagoya University), Matsubayashi T (Seirei Hamamatsu General Hospital), Hayakawa A (Kobe University), Osugi Y (Osaka General Medical Center), Ida K (The University of Tokyo), Koga Y (Kyushu University), Ueyama J (Tottori University), Yoshida M (Asahikawa Medical College), Yamamoto S (Showa University Fujigaoka Hospital), and all JSPH members. We also thank Takahashi H (University of Tsukuba) for helpful discussion regarding the statistical analysis. This work was supported by a Grant for Research on Measures for Intractable Diseases from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology and Oncology, Shizuoka Children's Hospital, Shizuoka, Japan

    K Kudo

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan

    S Ohga

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Shimotsuke, Japan

    A Morimoto

  4. Division of Pediatrics, St Luke's International Hospital, Tokyo, Japan

    Y Ishida

  5. Department of Pediatrics, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan

    N Suzuki

  6. Division of Hematology Oncology, Hyogo Children's Hospital, Kobe, Japan

    D Hasegawa

  7. Department of Pediatrics, National Kyushu Cancer Center, Fukuoka, Japan

    Y Nagatoshi

  8. Department of Pediatrics, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan

    S Kato

  9. Department of Pediatrics, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Toon, Japan

    E Ishii

  10. The HLH/LCH committee in the Japanese Society of Pediatric Hematology, Japan

    K Kudo, S Ohga, A Morimoto, Y Ishida, N Suzuki & E Ishii

  11. The SCT committee in the Japanese Society of Pediatric Hematology, Japan

    S Kato

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  1. K Kudo
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  2. S Ohga
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Correspondence to K Kudo.

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Kudo, K., Ohga, S., Morimoto, A. et al. Improved outcome of refractory Langerhans cell histiocytosis in children with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Japan. Bone Marrow Transplant 45, 901–906 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2009.245

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2009.245

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