Background and objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) refractory to conventional medical treatment.
Methods: Eight case series met our a priori inclusion criteria for the primary outcome of progression-free survival. Individual study quality was rated using an 11-item scale for case series. The strength of the overall body of evidence for each outcome was rated using a system developed by the ECRI Institute. Data from different studies were statistically combined using meta-analysis. An additional six studies were included for a summary of mortality and morbidity.
Results: For secondary progressive MS, immunoablative therapy with autologous bone marrow/peripheral blood stem cell transplantation was associated with higher progression-free survival (up to 3 years following treatment) when using intermediate-intensity conditioning regimens compared with high-intensity conditioning regimens. The evidence was insufficient to determine whether the treatment was effective in patients with other types of MS. Treatment-related mortality was about 2.7%.
Conclusions: Patients with secondary progressive MS refractory to conventional medical treatment have longer progression-free survival following autologous stem cell transplantation with intermediate-intensity conditioning regimens than with high-intensity conditioning regimens.