Features of cytomegalovirus infection and evaluation of cytomegalovirus-specific T cells therapy in children’s patients following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: A retrospective single-center study

• Published in: Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology 2022-10, Vol.12, p.1027341-1027341
• Main Authors: Ruan, Yongsheng, Luo, Tingting, Liu, Qiujun, Liu, Xuan, Chen, Libai, Wen, Jianyun, Xiao, Yuhua, Xie, Danfeng, He, Yuelin, Wu, Xuedong, Feng, Xiaoqin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; Cellular and Infection Microbiology; children; cytomegalovirus infection; cytomegalovirus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes; haploidentical transplant
• ISSN: 2235-2988; 2235-2988
• DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1027341

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection remains a critical cause of mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), despite improvement by pre-emptive antivirus treatment. CMV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CMV-CTL) are universally used and proven well-tolerance after allo-HSCT in adult clinical trials. However, it is not comprehensively evaluated in children’s patients. Herein, we conducted a retrospective study to determine the risk factors of CMV infection and evaluation of CMV-CTL in children patients who underwent allo-HSCT. As result, a significantly poor 5-year overall survival was found in the CMV infection group (87.3 vs. 94.6%, p=0.01). Haploidentical HSCT (haplo-HSCT) was identified as an independent risk factor for CMV infection through both univariate and multivariate analyses (p