Prolonged Hematogone Expansion Is Associated with Better Outcomes in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Recipients
<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Hematogones, B cell precursors, are considered a clock of bone marrow reconstitution after chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). <b>Methods</b>: In this retrospective observational monocentric study, we investigated the prognostic role of hematogone expansion after allogeneic HSCT and its association with clinical and molecular features. <b>Results</b>: Using a cut-off value of 0.1%, hematogones were detected in 60% of patients at the first re-evaluation after HSCT (median, 2.4%; range, 0.2-9.0%) and in 63% of subjects at the most recent evaluation (MRR) (median, 1.4%; range, 0.1-5.1%). In particular, prolonged hematogone expansion was associated with longer overall survival (<i>p</i> = 0.0043) and relapse-free survival (<i>p</i> = 0.0002). No associations were described between hematogone frequency and stem cell sources or acute or chronic graft versus host disease incidence. <b>Conclusions</b>: In conclusion, our results confirmed that hematogones mirrored bone marrow fitness and reconstitution ability; thus, they could be used as a prognostic marker of HSCT outcomes.
Authors
- Francesca Picone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6509-9789)
- Carmine Selleri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5861-8984)
- Michela Rizzo
- Maddalena Langella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0899-7219)
- Marisa Gorrese (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4603-712X)
- Valentina Giudice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7492-6848)
- Roberto Guariglia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-4165-8646)
- Paola Manzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6593-0132)
- Pasqualina Scala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6292-4186)
- Rossella Marcucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9549-7176)
- Serena Luponio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7063-970X)
- Anna Maria Della Corte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1972-6336)
- Denise Morini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4921-1081)
- Anna Maria Sessa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0365-5143)
- Francesco Verdesca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-0081-0914)
- A. Bertolini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7167-6479)
- Bianca Serio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6613-2370)
- Danilo De Novellis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2590-0529)
- Francesca Velino
- Martina De Leucio
Institutions
- University of Salerno (IT)
- Ospedali Riuniti San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d'Aragona (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Hematology Reports
- Published
- 2025-09-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/hematolrep17050046
- Primary Topic
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00