Single- or double-unit UCBT following RIC in adults with AL: a report from Eurocord, the ALWP and the CTIWP of the EBMT

BACKGROUND: The feasibility of cord blood transplantation (CBT) in adults is limited by the relatively low number of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells contained in one single CB unit. The infusion of two CB units from different partially HLA-matched donors (double CBT) is frequently performed in patients who lack a sufficiently rich single CB unit. METHODS: We compared CBT outcomes in patients given single or double CBT following reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) in a retrospective multicenter registry-based study. Inclusion criteria included adult (≥18 years) patients, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), complete remission (CR) at the time of transplantation, first single (with a cryopreserved TNC ≥ 2.5 × 10(7)/kg) or double CBT between 2004 and 2014, and RIC conditioning. RESULTS: Data from 534 patients with AML (n = 408) or ALL (n = 126) receiving a first single (n = 172) or double (n = 362) CBT were included in the analyses. In univariate analysis, in comparison to patients transplanted with a single CB, double CB recipients had a similar incidence of neutrophil engraftment but a suggestion for a higher incidence of grade II–IV acute GVHD (36 versus 28%, P = 0.08). In multivariate analyses, in comparison to single CBT recipients, double CBT patients had a comparable incidence of relapse (HR = 0.9, P = 0.5) and of nonrelapse mortality (HR = 0.8, P = 0.3), as well as comparable overall (HR = 0.8, P = 0.17), leukemia-free (HR = 0.8, P = 0.2) and GVHD-free, relapse-free (HR = 1.0, P = 0.3) survival. CONCLUSIONS: These data failed to demonstrate better transplantation outcomes in adult patients receiving double CBT in comparison to those receiving single CBT with adequate TNC after RIC. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13045-017-0497-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.