Successful treatment of severe immune hemolytic anemia after allogeneic stem cell transplantation with bortezomib: report of a case and review of literature

BACKGROUND: Immune hemolytic anemia is a well-known complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Posttransplant hemolytic anemia results in increased red blood cell transfusions and medical sequelae including iron overload. CASE REPORT: We present a case report of immune hemolytic anemia that occurred after allogeneic HSCT from an ABO major–mismatched, HLA-matched unrelated donor. The patient had high anti-donor A type antibodies that were unresponsive to treatment with steroids and rituximab, resulting in persistent transfusion dependence. A detailed time course of anti-A titers, plasma cell content of the marrow, and B-cell content of the blood is presented. Treatment with bortezomib, a protease inhibitor, eliminated residual host-type plasma cells secreting anti-A and restored normal donor-derived erythropoiesis. CONCLUSION: This report, and a review of literature for treatment of immune hemolytic anemia after allogeneic HSCT, supports the utility of bortezomib as plasma cell–targeted therapy in this setting.