Influence of pre-transplant minimal residual disease on prognosis after Allo-SCT for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis was performed to explore the impact of minimal residual disease (MRD) prior to transplantation on the prognosis for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library was conducted for relevant studies from database inception to March 2016. A total of 21 studies were included. RESULTS: Patients with positive MRD prior to allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) had a significantly higher rate of relapse compared with those with negative MRD (HR = 3.26; P < 0.05). Pre-transplantation positive MRD was a significant negative predictor of relapse-free survival (RFS) (HR = 2.53; P < 0.05), event-free survival (EFS) (HR = 4.77; P < 0.05), and overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.98; P < 0.05). However, positive MRD prior to transplantation was not associated with a higher rate of nonrelapse mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Positive MRD before allo-SCT was a predictor of poor prognosis after transplantation in ALL. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not applicable. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-018-4670-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.