Real-life feasibility of salvage allogeneic transplantation in peripheral T-cell lymphomas

Relapsed/refractory Peripheral T-cell Lymphomas are characterized by a poor prognosis, especially for patients who are not candidates for allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation. We conducted a retrospective analysis on 73 consecutive patients affected by relapsed/refractory T-Cell lymphomas who were considered eligible for allogeneic transplant. All patients were referred at our center from 2001 to 2017. With a median follow-up of 40 months (range 9–192 months), 4-year second-line failure-free survival and overall survival were 14% (CI95%:7–24) and 34% (CI95%:22–46). Extranodal disease at relapse (HR 2.25, CI95%: 1.11–4.56, p = 0.02) and first-line failure-free survival < 12 months (HR 3.37, CI95%: 1.67–6.88, p < 0.01) had a negative prognostic impact on survival. Only 45 out of 73 patients (62%) received allogeneic transplant. For the 28 (38%) patients who did not proceed to transplant, disease progression was the main reason for ineligibility. Median survival from time of transplant was 31 months (range 4–185 months). A first-line failure-free survival < 12 months had a negative prognostic impact also for allografted patients (2-year survival 45% vs 73%, p = 0.03) identifying a very high-risk population which requires novel treatments pre and post-transplant to obtain a long-term disease control.