Busulfan fludarabine vs busulfan cyclophosphamide as a preparative regimen before allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: Systematic review and meta-analysis

We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity profile of busulfan-fludarabine (Bu-Flu) compared with busulfan-cyclophosphamide (Bu-Cy) as a preparative regimen for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of all comparative trials, both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-randomized. Our search yielded 15 trials recruiting 1830 patients. Four trials were RCTs and 11 were either one-arm intervention trials compared with historical controls or retrospective studies. There was a lower risk for non-relapse mortality (NRM) at 100 days in patients given Bu-Flu regimen compared with those given Bu-Cy regimen (relative risk (RR) 0.56; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34-0.92, 8 trials); however, there were no differences in all-cause mortality at 100 days (RR 0.85; 95% CI 0.56-1.30, 9 trials) and at the end of study (RR 0.81; 95% CI 0.64-1.02, 13 trials). The risks of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) and microbiologically documented infections were lower in patients given Bu-Flu regimen (RR 0.34; 95% CI 0.19-0.62, 8 trials and RR 0.79; 95% CI 0.64-0.97, 2 trials, respectively); however, risk for SOS was no longer lower when performing sensitivity analysis according to RCTs. Engraftment kinetics, risk of grade 3-4 mucositis, GvHD, relapse and NRM at the end of the study were all similar between the two groups. We conclude that both regimens have similar efficacy profiles, whereas toxicity is lower with the Bu-Flu regimen.