Retrospective Outcome Data for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Patients with Concurrent Coronary Artery Disease

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) represents an extended period of physiologic stress. It is unknown whether patients with pre-existing coronary artery disease (CAD) may be poor transplant candidates. There are no data analyzing the risk of transplantation in this population. Sixty-nine patients with CAD who underwent 72 transplantations, autologous and allogeneic, were identified retrospectively. Fifty-five percent of these patients had prior percutaneous coronary intervention, 42% had verifiable history of myocardial infarction, and 23% had prior coronary artery bypass grafting. Outcomes were compared to 1109 patients without established CAD who underwent 1183 transplants during the same time period. Cancer diagnoses in the 2 groups were similar, predominantly lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia. There was no significant difference between the CAD group and the control group with respect to type of transplant (autologous 68% versus 64%, P = .612, myeloablative 86% versus 85%, P = .867). Treatment-related mortality was no different in the CAD group versus the control group (5.6% versus 4.9%, P = .777), nor were there differences in mortality at 1 year (15.3% versus 16.6%, P = .871), urgent intensive care unit admission (11.1% versus 9.9%, P = .686), or length of stay (25.5 days versus 28.4 days, P = .195). These findings suggest many patients with underlying coronary artery disease may be safely managed through hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.