Poor pretransplantation minimal residual disease clearance as an independent prognostic risk factor for survival in myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts: A multicenter, retrospective cohort study

Background Minimal residual disease (MRD) is an important prognostic factor for survival in adults with acute leukemia. The role of pretransplantation MRD status in myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts (MDS‐EB) is unknown. This study retrospectively analyzed the relationship between pretransplantation MRD status and long‐term survival. Materials and Methods Patients with MDS‐EB who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) from March 5, 2005, to November 8, 2020, were included. The relationship between pretransplantation MRD status and long‐term survival was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Results Of 220 patients with MDS‐EB who underwent allo‐HSCT, 198 were eligible for inclusion in this multicenter, retrospective cohort study. Complete remission was attained in 121 (61.1%) patients, and 103 patients underwent detection of MRD pretransplantation, with 67 patients being MRD‐positive and 36 patients being MRD‐negative. The median follow‐up time was 16 months, the median age was 41 years (6–65 years), and 58% of the patients were men. The 3‐year disease‐free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) probabilities for all patients were 70.1% and 72.9%, respectively. For patients in complete remission, the 3‐year DFS and OS probabilities were 72.2% and 74.8%, respectively. Further analysis found that the 3‐year DFS rates of MRD‐negative and MRD‐positive patients were 85.6% and 66.5% (p = .045), respectively, whereas the 3‐year OS rates were 91.3% and 66.4% (p = .035), respectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that poor pretransplantation MRD clearance was an independent prognostic risk factor for DFS and OS. Conclusion Poor pretransplantation MRD clearance is an independent prognostic risk factor for long‐term survival after allo‐HSCT for patients with MDS‐EB. Plain language summary Poor minimal residual disease clearance pretransplanation is an independent prognostic risk factor for long‐term survival after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts. The role of minimal residual disease (MRD) status pretransplantation in the survival of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in present multicenter, retrospective, cohort study was evaluated. The primary outcome showed that MRD status was the only independent prognostic factor