Hypomethylating agents after allogeneic blood stem cell transplantation.

Allogeneic blood stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) is a potentially curative treatment for patients with myeloid malignancies such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), but relapse remains the major cause of treatment failure. So far, therapeutic options for patients with AML or MDS who relapse after allo-SCT generally consisted of palliative care, low-dose or intensive chemotherapy as well as cellular therapies such as donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI) and second transplantation in selected cases. Nevertheless, the prognosis of patients with myeloid malignancies relapsing after allo-SCT remains dismal therefore asking for novel treatment strategies. Considering their well-balanced profile of good efficacy and moderate toxicity in the non-transplant setting, the hypomethylating agents (HMA) azacitidine (Aza) and decitabine (DAC) have also been tested either alone or in combination with DLI in the post-transplant period. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the use of these two HMA as pre-emptive, salvage or consolidation therapy mostly retrieved from retrospective studies but also from a few prospective trials. Within this review, we also comment on some practical issues such as optimal dose and schedule, the choice of HMA candidates and the role of additional cellular interventions. Finally, we also give an overview on the assumed mode of actions, ongoing research, clinical studies and potential combination partners aiming to improve this treatment approach.