HMN 2026: How Autoimmune disease is linked to poor outcomes with myelodysplastic syndrome

Having a preexisting autoimmune disease is an independent risk factor for poor outcomes with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), according to a study published in the June issue of Clinical Immunology.

Ning Wu, from the Peking University Institute of Hematology and National Clinical Research Center for Hematologic Disease in Beijing, and colleagues retrospectively studied 161 patients with MDS undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) from 2013 to 2024, including 39 patients with preexisting autoimmune disease and 122 matched controls, to understand the combined impact on allo-HSCT.

The researchers found that patients with an autoimmune disease had significantly lower platelet engraftment, a higher relapse rate, inferior leukemia-free survival, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS). There were no significant differences observed in overall survival or acute or chronic GVHD. Active autoimmune disease at transplantation conferred higher relapse and worse GRFS in a subgroup analysis.

“Preexisting autoimmune disease is an independent risk factor for poor outcomes, supporting personalized strategies for this high-risk population,” the authors write.

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