The Efficacy and Safety of Cidofovir in Salvage Therapy for CMV Infection in the Patients with Haploid Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Cidofovir (CDV) is a nucleotide analogue with broad antiviral activity and has been approved for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Data on the use of CDV for anti-CMV treatment in the patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) are limited. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of CDV in salvage treatment of CMV infection after allo-HSCT, we prospectively enrolled 18 patients with CMV infection after allo-HSCT in this study, of whom failed or intolerant to preemptive antiviral therapy. Dose of CDV as 5 mg/kg per week was used until CMV-DNA negative twice with quantification polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) detection or disease progression. All these 18 patients received haploid HSCT and suffered from a median of II (I~IV) ° acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD) before or at the same time of CMV infection. The patients showed as CMV DNAemia (n=7), CMV syndrome (n=5) and CMV disease (n=6) at a median time of 37 (range, 26 to 49) days post transplantation. Before CDV, all the patients received ganciclovir (n=9) or/and foscarnet (n=10) as pre-empty treatment for CMV infection, and 15 cases failed while 3 untolerated to the side effect. After a median of 2 (1-4) course of CDV therapy, 14 (77.8%) patients acquired clinical cure, 1 improved, and 3 (16.7%) failed, presenting a median response time of 2 courses. 11 (61.1%) patients had a 1-log decrease in CMV-DNA copy number after 1 cycle of CDV treatment, and 10 (55.6%) patients obtained virus clearance after 1 to 2 courses of treatment. With a median follow-up of 5 (1 to 12) months, 14 patients remained continuously CMV-DNA negative. During CDV treatment, 4 (22.2%) patients developed mild reversible renal damage and 5 (27.8%) experienced I~II° gastrointestinal reactions. Taking together, it could be effective and safe to use cidofovir in salvage treatment for CMV infection in the patients with allo-HSCT, including haplo-HSCT. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.