Abstract: We examined the risk of subsequent neoplasms (SNs) and late mortality in children and adolescents undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for nonmalignant diseases (NMDs). We included 6028 patients (median age, 6 years; interquartile range, 1-11; range, & lt;1 to 20) from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (1995-2012) registry. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) in 2-year survivors and standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated to compare mortality and SN rates with expected rates in the general population. Median follow-up of survivors was 7.8 years. Diagnoses included severe aplastic anemia (SAA; 24%), Fanconi anemia (FA; 10%), other marrow failure (6%), hemoglobinopathy (15%), immunodeficiency (23%), and metabolic/leukodystrophy syndrome (22%). Ten-year survival was 93% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 92% to 94%; SMR, 4.2; 95% CI, 3.7-4.8). Seventy-one patients developed SNs (1.2%). Incidence was highest in FA (5.5%), SAA (1.1%), and other marrow failure syndromes (1.7%); for other NMDs, incidence was & lt;1%. Hematologic (27%), oropharyngeal (25%), and skin cancers (13%) were most common. Leukemia risk was highest in the first 5 years posttransplantation; oropharyngeal, skin, liver, and thyroid tumors primarily occurred after 5 years. Despite a low number of SNs, patients had an 11-fold increased SN risk (SIR, 11; 95% CI, 8.9-13.9) compared with the general population. We report excellent long-term survival and low SN incidence in an international cohort of children undergoing HCT for NMDs. The risk of SN development was highest in patients with FA and marrow failure syndromes, highlighting the need for long-term posttransplantation surveillance in this population.

Abstract: Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematological malignancy with a poor prognosis and considered incurable with standard conventional chemotherapy. Small observational studies have shown that allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) offers durable remissions in patients with BPDCN. We conducted an analysis of 164 patients with BPDCN from 78 centers who underwent allo-HCT between 2007-2018 using data reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR). Results: Median follow up of survivors was 49 months (range 6-121). 5-year overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), relapse, and non-relapse (NRM) rates were 51.2% (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 42.5-59.8%), 44.4% (95%CI: 36.2-52.8%), 32.2% (95%CI: 24.7-40.3%), and 23.3% (95%CI: 16.9-30.4%), respectively. Disease relapse was the most common cause of death. On multivariate analyses, age ≥60 was predictive for inferior OS (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.16, 95% CI 1.35-3.46, p= 0.001), and higher NRM [HR= 2.19, 95% CI 1.13-4.22, p= 0.02]. Remission status at time of allo-HCT (CR2/PIF/Relapse vs CR1) was predictive of inferior OS [HR= 1.87, 95% CI 1.14-3.06, p= 0.01] and DFS [HR= 1.75, 95% CI 1.11-2.76, p= 0.02]. Use of myeloablative conditioning with total body irradiation (TBI) was predictive for improved DFS and reduced risk of relapse. Conclusion: Allo-HCT is effective in providing durable remissions and long-term survival in BPDCN. Younger age and allo-HCT in CR1 predicted for improved survival, while myeloablative conditioning with TBI predicted for less relapse and improved DFS. Novel strategies incorporating allo-HCT are needed to further improve outcomes.

Abstract: Background: The FDA approved hydroxyurea (HU) for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) in children because it was deemed a safe and efficacious treatment. HU modifies the course of the disease, reduces complications, improves survival, and has few long-term side effects. Despite these benefits, HU uptake remains low for young children. Over 75% of patients who could benefit from HU do not receive the treatment. NHLBI clinical practice guidelines recommend use of shared decision making for HU initiation but currently, there is no "gold standard" for hematology providers to follow when beginning their discussion about HU. Thus, there is likely a gap between care guidelines and clinical practice. A first step in closing this gap is to better understand the current practice utilized by hematology providers when discussing HU as a therapeutic option. Objectives: The goal of the present study is to describe current practice used by hematology providers when discussing HU with parents of young children with SCD (0 - 5 years of age), Our primary aims are: 1) Map the process of offering HU to identify common themes, overlaps, and variations, 2) Examine the impact of a brief video presentation about the NHLBI HU guidelines on provider knowledge and comfort levels. Methods: The dissemination of methods to increase adherence to NHLBI HU guidelines are being evaluated as part of a clinical trial (NCT03442114). Hematology providers at 6 children's hospitals serving young patients with SCD completed process maps that described their current practice for discussing HU initiation with parents. Twenty five hematology providers at 10 institutions across the United States viewed a video didactic presentation on the NHLBI HU guidelines for SCD. Knowledge and comfort regarding discussing HU was assessed using a 10-point scale before and after the video. We also collected data on provider demographics, years practicing, and percentage of patients seen with SCD each week in their practice. Results: Preliminary analyses identified common themes (see Table 1 for provider characteristics). All 6 sites reported that labs and vitals were taken prior to the visit so they could be reviewed with the family. A medical doctor, nurse practitioner, or licensed practical nurse (LPN) led the HU initiation discussion. The majority of sites give their families HU-related materials to take home after the discussion and followed-up regarding the family's decision at the next clinic visit (i.e. planned for a two-visit HU initiation process). Variations identified included providing HU-related materials to the family prior to the visit, when the discussion would occur, and whether NHLBI HU guidelines framed the discussion (Figure 1). Paired samples t-tests assessed for change in medical provider reported HU knowledge and comfort before and after the SCD didactic presentation. Data revealed that there were no differences in provider comfort,t(21) = .77, p = .45, d = .03. In contrast, there was a trend towards a significant increase in medical provider knowledge from before (M = 8.4, SD = 2.3) to after (M = 8.7, SD = 2.1) the presentation, t(21) = 1.8, p = .08, d = .11, small effect. Correlation analyses determined that higher baseline provider knowledge and comfort with HU were significantly correlated with seeing more SCD patients on a weekly basis (Figure 2). Discussion: This study identified common elements of clinical practice for HU initiation in young children with SCD, but variations were also revealed. All institutions in the study obtained lab work prior to the discussion with the family; however the provider initiating the discussion varied by site (e.g., 1 site used an LPN). Most institutions plan for a two-visit discussion as families may not be ready to make a decision during the first visit but feel more supported over time. It is critical that patients and families make their decision based on SCD-specific HU information. Study data indicated that a brief didactic presentation elicited a small improvement provider HU knowledge. Moreover, exposure to the SCD population was strongly related to knowledge and comfort with HU, suggesting that hematology providers with more experience working with patients with SCD may be in the best position to initiate discussions about HU. The incorporation of decision support tools might help to support hematology providers and reduce the variation across institutions observed in our study. Disclosures King: Tioma Therapeutics (formerly Vasculox, Inc.):: Consultancy; RiverVest: Consultancy; Novimmune: Research Funding; WUGEN: Equity Ownership; Celgene: Consultancy; Cell Works: Consultancy; Magenta Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amphivena Therapeutics: Research Funding; Bioline: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy. Piccone:Hemex Health, Inc.: Patents & Royalties. Neumayr:Terumo: Research Funding; Apopharma: Consultancy; PCORI: Research Funding; NHLBI: Research Funding; Bluebird Bio: Research Funding; Sancillo: Research Funding; Seattle Children's Research Grants: Research Funding; Doris Duke Foundation: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy; Celgene: Research Funding; Imara: Research Funding; Sangamo: Research Funding; Silarus: Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Emmaus: Consultancy; CTD Holdings: Consultancy; GBT: Research Funding; La Jolla Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; HRSA: Research Funding; CDC: Research Funding. Meier:CVS Caremark: Consultancy.

Abstract: Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a genetic blood disorder that puts children at a risk of serious medical complications, early morbidity and mortality, and high health care utilization. Until recently, hydroxyurea was the only disease-modifying treatment for this life-threatening disease and has remained the only option for children younger than 5 years. Evidence-based guidelines recommend using a shared decision-making (SDM) approach for offering hydroxyurea to children with SCA (HbSS or HbS/β0 thalassemia) aged as early as 9 months. However, the uptake remains suboptimal, likely because caregivers lack information about hydroxyurea and have concerns about its safety and potential long-term side effects. Moreover, clinicians do not routinely receive training or tools, especially those that provide medical evidence and consider caregivers’ preferences and values, to facilitate a shared discussion with caregivers. Objective The aim of this study is to understand how best to help parents of young children with sickle cell disease and their clinicians have a shared discussion about hydroxyurea (one that considers medical evidence and parent values and preferences). Methods We designed our study to compare the effectiveness of two methods for disseminating hydroxyurea guidelines to facilitate SDM: a clinician pocket guide (ie, usual care) and a clinician hydroxyurea SDM toolkit (H-SDM toolkit). Our primary outcomes are caregiver reports of decisional uncertainty and knowledge of hydroxyurea. The study also assesses the number of children (aged 0-5 years) who were offered and prescribed hydroxyurea and the resultant health outcomes. Results The Ethics Committee of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center approved this study in November 2017. As of February 2021, we have enrolled 120 caregiver participants. Conclusions The long-term objective of this study is to improve the quality of care for children with SCA. Using multicomponent dissemination methods developed in partnership with key stakeholders and designed to address barriers to high-quality care, caregivers of patients with SCA can make informed and shared decisions about their health. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03442114; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03442114 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/27650

Abstract: Background: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic disorder that causes significant medical and neurologic morbidity in children. Hydroxyurea (HU) is the primary medication used to prevent these complications. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) guidelines recommend offering HU to children as young as 9 months of age with SCD (HbSS or HbSB0 thalassemia) using a shared decision-making approach. Although HU has proven efficacious it remains underutilized and caregivers report that they are not always actively involved in the decision to initiate this therapy. Reasons for limited HU uptake likely include lack of clinician knowledge and training and negative caregiver perceptions. Thus, we developed the Engage-HU trial as a novel approach to address HU utilization barriers. A critical consideration for this trial was that SCD primarily affects individuals of African and Hispanic/Latino descent. In these minority populations, intervention trials are sometimes terminated early because of recruitment difficulties related to mistrust of research, caregiver burden, and transportation issues. As such, the Engage-HU trial design included best-practice strategies for recruiting people of color in research. This study describes these strategies, the initial recruitment plan, preliminary recruitment outcomes and strategies, and our procedural adaptations. Study Design and Methods: Engage-HU is a randomized control trial (NCT03442114) to assess how clinicians can engage caregivers in a shared discussion that considers their values and preferences and includes evidence that supports HU. Engage-HU compares two dissemination methods for clinicians to facilitate shared decision-making with caregivers of young children with SCD: 1) the American Society of Hematology Pocket Guide, and 2) the HU Shared-Decision Making (H-SDM) Toolkit. The study aims to recruit 174 caregivers and evaluate the effectiveness of the dissemination methods on patient-centered outcomes (caregiver confidence in decision-making and perceptions of experiencing shared decision-making) as well as HU uptake and child health outcomes. Eligible children are aged 0 to 5 years, candidates for HU, and their caregiver has not made a decision about HU in the past 3 months. The trial is being conducted at 9 sites in the United States and uses a stepped-wedge design. Data will be analyzed based on the intent-to-treat principle. All participants will remain in the arm of the study to which they were randomized, regardless of whether or not they receive the assigned dissemination method. The primary endpoints are caregiver decisional uncertainty and caregiver perception of shared decision-making measured using validated tools. Data will be analyzed using a linear mixed effects regression model with a robust variance estimator and maximum likelihood estimation with observations clustered within site. The Engage-HU trial includes adaptations to increase recruitment such as tailored messaging, a relational recruitment approach, streamlined data collection, and a Stakeholder Advisory Committee. However, even with these adaptations, the first 6-months of the trial yielded lower than anticipated recruitment. Rather than terminate the trial or accept low enrollment, the research team implemented a series of recruitment strategies to address barriers including helping to improve research coordinator knowledge of the study purpose and adjusting no-show and follow-up procedures (e.g., calls to families after missed appointments and reminder calls before appointments). Site clinicians and clinic staff were provided with additional training so they could give more context about Engage-HU to caregivers and the study principal investigator led monthly "all coordinator" calls to provide support by sharing updates and experiences about successful recruitment. Implementation of these strategies resulted in triple the number of enrollments over the next 7-months compared to the previous 6-months (Table 1). Our goal in sharing this information is to provide lessons learned that can be implemented in future trials with the systematically underserved SCD population. It is also anticipated that methods described here may also inform clinical approaches to better engage caregivers of young children around critical clinical conversations, such as initiating medications like HU. Disclosures King: Magenta Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Bioline: Consultancy; RiverVest: Consultancy; Novimmune: Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; Tioma Therapuetics: Consultancy; Amphivena Therapeutics: Research Funding; WUGEN: Current equity holder in private company; Cell Works: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy. Smith-Whitley:Prime: Other: Education material; Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Global Blood Therapeutics: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Neumayr:Emmaus: Consultancy; Bayer: Consultancy; CTD Holdings: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy; ApoPharma: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Micelle: Other: Site principal investigator; GBT: Other: Site principal investigator; PCORI: Other: site principal investigator; Novartis: Other: co-investigator; Bluebird Bio: Other: co-investigator; Sangamo Therapeutics: Other; Silarus: Other; Celgene: Other; La Jolla Pharmaceuticals: Other; Forma: Other; Imara: Other; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: Other; Health Resources and Services Administration: Other; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Other; Seattle Children's Research: Other. Yates:Novartis: Research Funding. Thompson:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; CRISPR/Vertex: Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Baxalta: Research Funding; Biomarin: Research Funding; bluebird bio, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding.

Abstract: A new community risk score for hematopoietic cell transplant recipients, derived from a large publicly available database (the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps), has been developed to describe the community health status of patients and transplant centers. A patient community risk score is associated with nonrelapse mortality and overall survival; however, a center community risk score is not associated with transplant outcomes.