Saubia Fathima, Margaret Mei‐Kay Wong, Jesus Gonzalez-Lugo, Susan M. Geyer, Ali Alsugair, Maria Sirenko, Kimberly J. Langer, Terra L. Lasho, Christy Finke, Jun Choi, Maher Abdul‐Hay, Gary Ho, M. R. Litzow, Aasiya Matin, Urshila Durani, M. Hefazi, William J. Hogan, Mithun V. Shah, Aref Al-Kali, Kebede H. Begna, Naseema Gangat, A. Saliba, Ronald S. Go, Tariq Kewan, Gabriel Bartoo, Jade Kutzke, Kristen McCullough, Kenneth J. Warrington, Megan Sullivan, Kaaren K. Reichard, Horatiu Olteanu, Hemant S. Murthy, Talha Badar, Yael Kusne, Jeanne Palmer, Saurabh Chhabra, Nathan Punwani, Mary Riwes, Joseph P. McGuirk, Elizabeth F. Krakow, Amelia Langston, Taxiarchis Kourelis, David Dingli, James M. Foran, Matthew J. Koster, Mrinal M. Patnaik, David B. Beck, Hassan B. Alkhateeb, Abhishek A. Mangaonkar
Hypomethylating agents (HMA) and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) have both demonstrated remissions in VEXAS; however, comparative data is lacking. We conducted a multicenter, retrospective analysis of 66 patients diagnosed with VEXAS syndrome treated with HMA (n = 35) or alloHSCT (n = 31). Baseline characteristics such as genetics, co-morbidities, and performance status were balanced between the groups, except older age in the HMA group. Median follow-up from therapy initiation was 18 months (95% CI: 11-26), and 14 (21%) deaths were reported (alloHSCT n = 3; HMA n = 11). Among all evaluable patients within the alloHSCT cohort, all patients achieved molecular remission, and a substantial proportion of patients discontinued glucocorticoids (58%). In contrast, HMA therapy was associated with lower but meaningful rates of molecular remission (22%) and glucocorticoid discontinuation (6%). In a real-world setting, HMA therapy was associated with a high discontinuation rate related to toxicity or lack of response. On multivariable analysis adjusted for age and Charlson Comorbidity Index, alloHSCT was associated with improved overall survival (HR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.05-0.81; p = 0.024). This association remained consistent across multiple ancillary sensitivity analyses, including restriction to transplant-eligible patients, patients aged ≤ 75 years, 1:1 matching, and propensity score-based weighted analyses. Although limited by retrospective design, these findings suggest that alloHSCT remains an attractive and potentially curative strategy in selected patients with VEXAS. Prospective validation of these findings is warranted.