Impact of serum albumin and prealbumin as well as anthropometric measurements on long-term survival outcomes after allogeneic stem cell transplantation

Abstract

Background Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the treatment of choice for treatment of patients with high-risk features of acute leukemia or those who are relapsed after standard treatment. By now, there are few studies on nutritional assessment of hematological patients before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and additionally, most rely on one single assessment method. Objective Evaluating nutritional indicators as well as anthropometric measurements in long-term survivors posttransplant, identifying their relationship on transplant outcomes. Patients and methods The present work included 30 patients with two or more years after allogeneic stem cell transplantation who were following up at Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Ain-Shams University Hospitals, from January 2019 till January 2023. We assessed nutritional laboratory parameters, including albumin, prealbumin as well as anthropometric measurements, including BMI, waist, circumference, waist–hip ratio, and body fat percentage, using bioelectric impendence in long-term survivors as well as assessment of the quality of life (QoL) using the FACT-BMT questionnaire. Results We found a statistically significant association between nutritional laboratory parameters as well as anthropometric measurements with late transplant outcomes, including the incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease, disease relapse, and transplant-related mortality as well as posttransplant QoL. Conclusion Nutritional laboratory biomarkers and anthropometric measurements in long-term survivors postallogeneic stem cell transplantation were low-cost, noninvasive biomarkers for early and late transplant complications, patients’ survival, and QoL.