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Advances in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) and supportive care over the past decade have reduced transplant and relapse-related mortality, leading to a greater number of long-term survivors. However, transplant-related late effects, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and metabolic diseases, are becoming significant concerns for this group. This review aims to address several key questions regarding cardiovascular late effects in alloHSCT recipients, including the long-term incidence of CVD-related events, the prevalence of risk factors, screening and management recommendations, and evidence for screening and prevention strategies. A literature search was conducted in PubMed Central using the National Library of Medicine search engine, covering all relevant research from inception to 2023. The initial search identified 751 research records, of which 41 were shortlisted based on specific criteria (≥18 years of age at the time of transplant, allogeneic transplant, and inclusion of more than 30 patients). Our review highlights published evidence confirming the increased CVD risk among alloHSCT recipients. This risk is especially pronounced among individuals who have developed traditional and modifiable risk factors or have been exposed to transplant-specific risk factors. Evidence of the use of traditional cardiac risk factor calculators in the alloHSCT population is limited, in addition, there is emerging evidence that general population calculators potentially underestimate CVD risk given the increased risk of CVD in the allogeneic group as a whole. Studies that develop and validate transplant recipient-specific CVD risk stratification tools appear to be severely lacking and the field's focus needs to be shifted here in the coming years. To improve patient engagement and adherence to CVD risk factor measures, we recommend that a multidisciplinary model involving both specialists and primary care physicians is crucial in ensuring regular follow-up in the community and to potentially improve adherence., (Copyright © 2024 The American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Monitoring of donor chimerism (DC) may detect early relapse following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Most centers use unfractionated peripheral blood or T-cells to monitor DC, although CD34 + DC may be more predictive. The limited adoption of CD34 + DC may be due to the lack of detailed, comparative studies. To address this knowledge gap, we compared peripheral blood CD34 + and CD3 + DC in 134 patients who underwent allo-SCT for AML or MDS. In July 2011, the Alfred Hospital Bone Marrow Transplantation Service adopted routine monitoring of DC in the lineage-specific CD34 + and CD3 + cell subsets from peripheral blood at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months post-transplantation for AML or MDS. Immunologic interventions, including rapid withdrawal of immunosuppression, azacitidine, and donor lymphocyte infusion, were prespecified for CD34 + DC ≤80%. Overall, CD34 + DC ≤80% detected 32 of 40 relapses (positive predictive value [PPV], 68%; negative predictive value [NPV], 91%), compared with 13 of 40 relapses for CD3 + DC ≤80% (PPV, 52%; NPV, 75%). Receiver operating characteristic analysis showed the superiority of CD34 + DC, with the greatest value at day 120 post-transplantation. CD3 + DC provided additional value in only 3 cases, preceding CD34 + DC ≤80% by 1 month. We further show that the CD34 + DC sample can be used to detect NPM1 mut , with the combination of CD34 + DC ≤80% and NPM1 mut identifying the highest risk of relapse. Among the 24 patients in morphologic remission at the time of CD34 + DC ≤80%, 15 (62.5%) responded to immunologic interventions (rapid withdrawal of immunosuppression, azacitidine, or donor lymphocyte infusion) with recovery of CD34 + DC >80%, and 11 of these patients remained in complete remission for a median of 34 months (range, 28 to 97 months). In contrast, the other 9 patients did not respond to the clinical intervention and relapsed within a median of 59 days after detecting CD34 + DC ≤80%. The CD34 + DC was significantly higher in responders than in nonresponders (median, 72% versus 56%; P = .015, Mann-Whitney U test). Overall, monitoring of CD34 + DC was considered clinically useful (early diagnosis of relapse enabling preemptive therapy or predicting low risk of relapse) in 107 of 125 evaluable patients (86%). Our findings show that peripheral blood CD34 + DC is feasible and superior to CD3 + DC for predicting relapse. It also provides a source of DNA for measurable residual disease testing, which may further stratify the risk of relapse. If validated by an independent cohort, our results suggest that CD34 + should be used in preference to CD3 + DC for detecting early relapse and guiding immunologic interventions following allo-SCT for AML or MDS., (Copyright © 2023 The American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)