Spiritual/religious struggle in hematopoietic cell transplant survivors.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 9573-9573
Author(s):  
Stephen Duane Watkins King ◽  
George Fitchett ◽  
Kenneth I. Pargament ◽  
Do Peterson ◽  
David A. Harrison ◽  
...  

9573 Background: Spiritual/religious (SR) struggle (e.g., feeling abandoned or punished by God) has been associated with poorer coping and quality of life (QOL), greater depression and pain, and health declines in general cancer populations. Few studies have been conducted among survivors of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). This study examined the prevalence and predictors of SR struggle in HCT survivors. Methods: Data were collected as part of an annual questionnaire of adult (age >18 years) survivors of HCT at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA. The 2011 survey included a SR module that incorporated the following items: Negative Religious Coping subscale of Brief RCOPE, subscales from the McGill QOL Questionnaire and the SF-36, Patient Health Questionnaire-8, disease information and socio-demographics. SR struggle was defined as any non-zero response on the Negative Religious Coping subscale of the Brief RCOPE. A multi-variable logistic regression model was used to determine factors associated with SR struggle. Results: Of 2113 returned surveys (52% response rate), 83% returned the SR module (n=1745) and of those 1586 were included in this analysis. Subjects were 49% female; 67% Christian and 20% Agnostic/Atheist/No preference; and 91% white. Mean age was 55 years; survivors ranged from 6 months to 40 years post-transplant. Primary indications for transplant were leukemia (49%), lymphoma (20%), and multiple myeloma (15%). Twenty-eight percent indicated SR struggle. In a multi-variable model, SR struggle showed statistically significant associations with age >=65 years (odds ratio [OR] .57, p=.02); patient report of being religious only (OR 3.5, p<.001) or spiritual only (OR 1.8, p<.001) compared to being both religious and spiritual; depression (OR 1.1, p<.001); and better social support (OR 0.77, p<.001). Time since HCT, religious affiliation and race/ethnicity did not show statistically significant associations with SR struggle. Conclusions: SR struggle is common among HCT survivors, even years after HCT.Further study is needed to determine causal relations, longitudinal trajectory, impact of struggle intensity, and effects of SR struggle on health, mood and social roles for HCT survivors.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-21
Author(s):  
Jan Styczynski

Following primary infection, herpesviruses establish latency in infected individuals in the host cells and may reactivate upon external stimuli and during periods of immunosuppression. The objective of this paper was to the present current strategies on preventive and therapeutic management of infections with herpesviruses in recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation. Strategies of antiviral management include prophylaxis, pre-emptive treatment and targeted treatment. Empirical therapy is not used in antiviral strategies. Prophylaxis can be done at universal (preventive strategy) and specific level. Universal prophylaxis includes non-pharmacologic methods of prevention of infection or reactivation. Risk-adapted specific prophylaxis includes use of specific antivirals or cellular therapy or other specific methods in order to prevent specific infection, in high-risk groups. Pre-emptive therapy means use of therapeutic approaches in asymptomatic infection, detected by a screening assay. Targeted therapy is used in established specific viral end-organ infections. The following sections of the paper refer to prophylaxis and treatment strategies, respectively, against CMV, EBV, HSV, VZV, HHV-6, HHV-7, and HHV-8 after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.


Blood ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 133 (7) ◽  
pp. 754-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica S. Thakar ◽  
Larisa Broglie ◽  
Brent Logan ◽  
Andrew Artz ◽  
Nancy Bunin ◽  
...  

Abstract Despite improvements, mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for nonmalignant diseases remains a significant problem. We evaluated whether pre-HCT conditions defined by the HCT Comorbidity Index (HCT-CI) predict probability of posttransplant survival. Using the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research database, we identified 4083 patients with nonmalignant diseases transplanted between 2007 and 2014. Primary outcome was overall survival (OS) using the Kaplan-Meier method. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by multivariable Cox regression models. Increasing HCT-CI scores translated to decreased 2-year OS of 82.7%, 80.3%, 74%, and 55.8% for patients with HCT-CI scores of 0, 1 to 2, 3 to 4, and ≥5, respectively, regardless of conditioning intensity. HCT-CI scores of 1 to 2 did not differ relative to scores of 0 (HR, 1.12 [95% CI, 0.93-1.34]), but HCT-CI of 3 to 4 and ≥5 posed significantly greater risks of mortality (HR, 1.33 [95% CI, 1.09-1.63]; and HR, 2.31 [95% CI, 1.79-2.96], respectively). The effect of HCT-CI differed by disease indication. Patients with acquired aplastic anemia, primary immune deficiencies, and congenital bone marrow failure syndromes with scores ≥3 had increased risk of death after HCT. However, higher HCT-CI scores among hemoglobinopathy patients did not increase mortality risk. In conclusion, this is the largest study to date reporting on patients with nonmalignant diseases demonstrating HCT-CI scores ≥3 that had inferior survival after HCT, except for patients with hemoglobinopathies. Our findings suggest that using the HCT-CI score, in addition to disease-specific factors, could be useful when developing treatment plans for nonmalignant diseases.


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 3265-3265
Author(s):  
Antonia M.S. Mueller ◽  
Jessica A. Allen ◽  
David Miklos ◽  
Judith A. Shizuru

Abstract Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients often exhibit B cell (BC) lymphopenia due, in part, to graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). Here, we studied the impact of donor T cells (TC) on BC deficiency post minor antigen-mismatched HCT. Following lethal irradiation, BALB.B mice were given FACS purified hematopoietic stem cells (HSC: cKIT+Thy1.1loLin-Sca-1+) alone, with whole splenocytes (SP), CD4 or CD8 TC from minor antigen-mismatched C57BL/6 (B6) mice. Chimerism analyses were performed on day (d) 30, 60, and 90. When pure HSC were transplanted, BCs reconstituted promptly (median 33% of lymphocytes [d30]; 61% [d60]; 74% [d90]), whereas TC engraftment was retarded and did not achieve full donor chimerism. Addition of SP or CD4 TCs, or to a lesser degree CD8 TCs, delayed BC reconstitution, with extremely low percentages of BCs beyond d60. This BC suppression correlated with the degree of acute GVHD, and BC numbers increased with recovery from GVHD. Additionally, this BC suppression was in stark contrast to TC development, with TC transfer resulting in early conversion to full donor chimerism. To test if previous events in the donor sensitize TCs against BC features (e.g. minor antigens), thereby promoting anti-BC cytotoxicity post-HCT, TCs from B6 muMT mice were co-transplanted with HSC. muMT mice are devoid of mature BCs because they lack the mu chain; consequently, their TCs were not exposed to BCs prior to transfer. Remarkably, BC engraftment was completely prevented through d90. TCs regenerated faster, but the vast majority originated from spleen and not HSC. To differentiate this lack of BC engraftment from GVHD-associated, alloreactive BC lymphopenia, syngenic B6 recipients were used. Again, initially complete blockade of BC engraftment was observed, although this suppression was overcome earlier post-HCT as compared to the minor-mismatched pair (median % BC d60: ’HSC only’ recipients 52%; +CD4 17%; +CD8 48%). To clarify if this phenomenon was a purely cytotoxic reaction of muMT TC against BCs, we used WT B6 HSC +/− SP as donors and lethally or sublethally irradiated muMT mice as recipients. All groups, including sublethally irradiated animals, where host muMT TC were still present, engrafted BCs making a direct anti-BC cytotoxicity unlikely as the sole cause of the BC inhibition. FACS analysis of bone marrow was used to assess the developmental stages of BCs (Hardy fractions (Fr.) A-F) and revealed GVHD recipients with peripheral B lymphopenia have a shift of B220+ cells from more mature Fr. D-F to immature Fr. A-C stages and a lower proportion of IgM expressing BC. Recipients of the muMT TCs showed, in addition to a shift to more immature stages, a clear block in BC development with an absent switch to the expression of IgM (stage D to E)(Fig. 1). In conclusion, muMT TCs are capable of blocking BC maturation when transferred into WT mice, suggesting defective TC activity in muMT animals necessary for the co-development of both BCs and TCs. Furthermore, this study provides evidence that mature TCs are capable of interfering with BC regeneration post-HCT. Hence, our HCT combinations using WT and muMT B6 mice provide a powerful tool to study the role of TC function in the process of donor BC development post-HCT.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1352-1359
Author(s):  
Najla El Jurdi ◽  
Ahmad Rayes ◽  
Margaret L. MacMillan ◽  
Shernan G. Holtan ◽  
Todd E. DeFor ◽  
...  

Abstract Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) has various risk factors and outcomes. We defined distinct aGVHD treatment response groups based on response to first-line corticosteroids: steroid sensitive (SS), steroid resistant (SR), and the rarely studied steroid dependent (SD) aGVHD. In 1143 consecutive adult and pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant recipients, 385 (34%) developed aGVHD, with 10% having SS aGVHD, 9% SD aGVHD, and 14% SR aGVHD. The only factor significantly associated with SD in comparison with SS was older age (odds ratio [OR], 3.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-11.3, when comparing 18- to 60-year-olds with &lt;18-year-olds). Factors significantly associated with SR in comparison with SS were unrelated donor (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.2-7.4) and Minnesota high-risk aGVHD (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.3-4.6). SR aGVHD was independently associated with higher risk for 2-year overall mortality (hazards ratio [HR], 1.8; 95% CI, 1.2-2.8) and nonrelapse mortality (NRM; HR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.2-3.9). SS and SD GVHD groups had similar overall survival and NRM. The cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD was highest in the SD group, followed by the SR and SS groups (46%, 41%, and 29%, respectively). SD and SS GVHD had similar prognoses, both markedly better than those of the SR groups.


Author(s):  
Ashley M Nelson ◽  
Kelly A Hyland ◽  
Brent Small ◽  
Brittany Kennedy ◽  
Asmita Mishra ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Fatigue is a prominent quality of life concern among recipients of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Purpose The present study investigated whether objectively measured sleep efficiency and sedentary behavior are related to greater reports of fatigue. Methods Eighty-two allogeneic HCT recipients who were 1–5 years post-transplant and returning for a follow-up visit participated (age M = 56, 52% female, 56% leukemia). They wore an actigraph assessing sleep efficiency and sedentary behavior for one week and completed an electronic log assessing fatigue each evening during the same period. Results Twenty-six percent of patients reported clinically meaningful fatigue. On average, fatigue was mild (M = 2.5 on 0–10 scale, SD = 2.0), sleep was disturbed (sleep efficiency M = 78.9%, SD = 8.9), and patients spent the majority of time in sedentary (M = 55.4%, SD = 10.2) or light (M = 35.9%, SD = 8.6) activity. Multilevel model analysis of between-person differences indicated that patients who experienced less efficient sleep the previous evening provided greater evening reports of average fatigue, b = –0.06, 95% CI (–0.11, –0.01). Similarly, within-person analyses indicated that when patients experienced less efficient sleep the previous evening or were more sedentary as compared to their average, they provided greater evening reports of average fatigue, b = –0.02, 95% CI (–0.05, –0.004); b = 4.46, 95% CI (1.95, 6.97), respectively. Conclusions Findings demonstrate that poor sleep and daily sedentary behavior are related to evening reports of fatigue and should be considered modifiable targets for intervention.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Jaleel Mohammed ◽  
Anne Gonzales ◽  
Hadeel R. Bakhsh ◽  
Volkova Alisa Georgievna ◽  
Jayanti Rai ◽  
...  

The current paper seeks to inform healthcare professionals on how adapting various components of return to work (RTW) programs that are already in use by other musculoskeletal rehabilitation settings can help optimize return to work process for patients with or without musculoskeletal manifestations, posthematopoietic cell transplantation. Since there is no universally agreed RTW structure for hematopoietic cell transplant patients, a narrative approach has been taken utilizing evidence from the existing musculoskeletal return to work assessment publications to help draw parallel for the hematopoietic cell transplant patients. Databases were searched including PUBMED, CINHAL, AMED, SCOPUS, and Cochrane using keywords RTW, functional restoration program, hematopoietic cell transplant, bone marrow transplant, stem cell transplant, and musculoskeletal functional assessment. The authors have managed to outline and propose a structured RTW assessment and monitoring program which can aid in getting patients back to employment by utilizing the functional capacity and job evaluation to help hematopoietic cell transplantation patients reintegrate socially. Patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplant require additional support and a robust assessment system to allow safe RTW. The proposed model of RTW assessment can prove to be beneficial in helping patients return to work safely. Clinical Significance. To acknowledge the individuality in functional limitation is important in determining not only the rehab needs but also the RTW capabilities. The proposed RTW plan not only promotes an individualized approach to patients but also provides a structure for return to work assessments for hematopoietic cell transplantation patients, thus, eliminating the need for guess work by healthcare professionals. In line with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) recommendations, a RTW assessment combined with a job evaluation helps healthcare professionals and stakeholders to understand the unique challenges and strengths of a patient and thereby design an individualized therapy approach.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (17) ◽  
pp. 4232-4243
Author(s):  
Pingping Zheng ◽  
John Tamaresis ◽  
Govindarajan Thangavelu ◽  
Liwen Xu ◽  
Xiaoqing You ◽  
...  

Abstract Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) caused by alloreactive T cells. Murine models of HCT are used to understand GVHD and T-cell reconstitution in GVHD target organs, most notably the gastrointestinal (GI) tract where the disease contributes most to patient mortality. T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire sequencing was used to measure T-cell reconstitution from the same donor graft (C57BL/6 H-2b) in the GI tract of different recipients across a spectrum of matching, from syngeneic (C57BL/6), to minor histocompatibility (MHC) antigen mismatch BALB.B (H-2b), to major MHC mismatched B10.BR (H-2k) and BALB/c (H-2d). Although the donor T-cell pools had highly similar TCR, the TCR repertoire after HCT was very specific to recipients in each experiment independent of geography. A single invariant natural killer T clone was identifiable in every recipient group and was enriched in syngeneic recipients according to clonal count and confirmatory flow cytometry. Using a novel cluster analysis of the TCR repertoire, we could classify recipient groups based only on their CDR3 size distribution or TCR repertoire relatedness. Using a method for evaluating the contribution of common TCR motifs to relatedness, we found that reproducible sets of clones were associated with specific recipient groups within each experiment and that relatedness did not necessarily depend on the most common clones in allogeneic recipients. This finding suggests that TCR reconstitution is highly stochastic and likely does not depend on the evaluation of the most expanded TCR clones in any individual recipient but instead depends on a complex polyclonal architecture.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. e2010018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria L. Delioukina ◽  
Stephen J. Forman

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common hematologic malignancy in adults with an incidence rate of 4.2 per 100,000 per year. CLL frequently takes an indolent course, with some patients not requiring treatment for years, yet is incurable by currently available chemo- and immuno-therapeutic modalities. Despite high initial response rates, particularly to purine analogues, patients invariably relapse and subsequently develop resistance to therapy. The traditional “watchful waiting” approach to CLL is being challenged by data showing that treatments used early in the disease course impact long-term overall and progression-free survivals . The only curative treatment for CLL currently, is allogeneic hematopoeietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). In contrast to autologous transplant, myeloablative alloHCT for CLL patients generates durable remissions with promising survival plateaus; however, significant transplant related mortality (TRM) is also observed (25-50%) . At present the fact remains that for poor-risk CLL, alloHCT is the only treatment with the potential of providing long-term disease control. Future combinations with emerging low-toxicity therapies may further enhance the curative potential of allogeniec hematopoietic cell transplant. New drugs can also potentially enable refractory patients to attain response as a bridge to more effective stem cell transplantation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 221 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S23-S31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghady Haidar ◽  
Michael Boeckh ◽  
Nina Singh

Abstract This review focuses on recent advances in the field of cytomegalovirus (CMV). The 2 main strategies for CMV prevention are prophylaxis and preemptive therapy. Prophylaxis effectively prevents CMV infection after solid organ transplantation (SOT) but is associated with high rates of neutropenia and delayed-onset postprophylaxis disease. In contrast, preemptive therapy has the advantage of leading to lower rates of CMV disease and robust humoral and T-cell responses. It is widely used in hematopoietic cell transplant recipients but is infrequently utilized after SOT due to logistical considerations, though these may be overcome by novel methods to monitor CMV viremia using self-testing platforms. We review recent developments in CMV immune monitoring, vaccination, and monoclonal antibodies, all of which have the potential to become part of integrated strategies that rely on viral load monitoring and immune responses. We discuss novel therapeutic options for drug-resistant or refractory CMV infection, including maribavir, letermovir, and adoptive T-cell transfer. We also explore the role of donor factors in transmitting CMV after SOT. Finally, we propose a framework with which to approach CMV prevention in the foreseeable future.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 6554-6554
Author(s):  
K. A. Goodman ◽  
V. Serrano ◽  
E. R. Riedel ◽  
S. Gulati ◽  
C. H. Moskowitz ◽  
...  

6554 Background: With improvements in survival among refractory/relapsed Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (HL) patients after high-dose chemo-radiotherapy and autologous hematopoietic-cell transplant (AHCT), it is important to evaluate risk of late complications in this heavily treated population. Methods: From 1985–1998, 218 refractory/relapsed HL patients were treated on high dose chemo-radiotherapy and AHCT salvage protocols. 153 (70%) surviving ≥2 years after AHCT were analyzed. All received either radiotherapy with initial therapy or total lymphoid irradiation and involved field boost with the conditioning regimen (43%). Information from surviving patients was obtained through a self-administered questionnaire. The NDI was queried to determine vital status and cause of death. Primary endpoint was non-HL mortality, defined as mortality due to cardiac causes, infection or second malignancy (SM). Competing risk methods were used to calculate cause-specific mortality rates and examine its predictors. All events were calculated from 2 years post-AHCT to date of death/last follow-up. Results: Median follow-up time was 11 years. There have been 51 deaths, 32 due to HL and 19 due to other causes. Eleven deaths were due to SM: AML (3), MDS (2), NHL (2), NSCLC (2), gastric and colon cancer. There were 8 non-SM deaths: cardiac toxicity (4), infection, aplastic anemia, suicide, unknown causes (1 each). The 10 and 15-year overall survival (OS) rates are 64% and 57%, respectively. The 10-year cumulative incidence of death from HL and from non-HL causes were 22% and 13.5% ( table ). By univariate analysis, increased risk of death due to SM was associated only with higher age at AHCT (p=0.02). Conclusions: While HL initially accounts for the majority of deaths among patients surviving high-dose therapy, the HL mortality rate plateaus and risk of death from non-HL mortality increases after 5 years. Yet, even at 15-years, SM risk does not exceed that observed in patients treated with standard regimens. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.


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