WHO classification and WPSS predict posttransplantation outcome in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome: a study from the Gruppo Italiano Trapianto di Midollo Osseo (GITMO).

We evaluated the impact of World Health Organization (WHO) classification and WHO classification-based Prognostic Scoring System (WPSS) on the outcome of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) between 1990 and 2006. Five-year overall survival (OS) was 80\% in refractory anemias, 57\% in refractory cytopenias, 51\% in refractory anemia with excess blasts 1 (RAEB-1), 28\% in RAEB-2, and 25\% in acute leukemia from MDS (P = .001). Five-year probability of relapse was 9\%, 22\%, 24\%, 56\%, and 53\%, respectively (P < .001). Five-year transplant-related mortality (TRM) was 14\%, 39\%, 38\%, 34\%, and 44\%, respectively (P = .24). In multivariate analysis, WHO classification showed a significant effect on OS (P = .017) and probability of relapse (P = .01); transfusion dependency was associated with a reduced OS (P = .01) and increased TRM (P = .037), whereas WPSS showed a prognostic significance on both OS (P = .001) and probability of relapse (P < .001). In patients without excess blasts, multilineage dysplasia and transfusion dependency affected OS (P = .001 and P = .009, respectively), and were associated with an increased TRM (P = .013 and P = .031, respectively). In these patients, WPSS identified 2 groups with different OS and TRM. These data suggest that WHO classification and WPSS have a relevant prognostic value in posttransplantation outcome of MDS patients.