@article {KOCH5431, author = {KATRIN KOCH and LENA OSSWALD and ISABELLA MILLER and KRISCHAN BRAITSCH and KATHARINA G{\"O}TZE and FLORIAN BASSERMANN and PETER HERHAUS and MAREIKE VERBEEK}, title = {Letermovir Prophylaxis for CMV Reactivation in Allogeneic Stem Cell Recipients: A Retrospective Single Center Analysis}, volume = {42}, number = {11}, pages = {5431--5441}, year = {2022}, doi = {10.21873/anticanres.16047}, publisher = {International Institute of Anticancer Research}, abstract = {Background/Aim: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation is one of the most clinically significant complications in allogeneic stem cell recipients and a frequent cause for transplantation related mortality. Letermovir is a newly available and recently approved drug for CMV prophylaxis. In a retrospective single center analysis, we investigated the benefit of letermovir as CMV prophylaxis in allogeneic stem cell recipients. Patients and Methods: We included 48 CMV-seropositive transplant recipients from January 2017 to August 2020 from our department. We compared the rate of CMV reactivation in patients who received letermovir as prophylaxis from day 0 after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) with a control group that did not receive CMV prophylaxis. The primary endpoint was CMV reactivation and was defined as an increase of CMV copies over 1250 Ul/ml in the peripheral blood; secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) up to 180 days, engraftment and all-cause mortality. Results: We included 21 patients in the control group and 27 patients in the letermovir group. Letermovir treatment led to a significantly reduced incidence of CMV reactivation after alloSCT (33.3\% in the letermovir group versus 76.2\% in the control group, p\<0.001). The OS at day 180 was 80.9\% in the control group versus 92.6\% in the letermovir group (p\<0.05). The median duration of letermovir prophylaxis was 192{\textpm}104 days. Conclusion: Our results indicate that letermovir prophylaxis is associated with a significant lower risk of CMV reactivation and improved overall survival in CMV-seropositive stem cell recipients. Moreover, a prolonged use of letermovir prophylaxis might be a survival benefit.}, issn = {0250-7005}, URL = {https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/42/11/5431}, eprint = {https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/42/11/5431.full.pdf}, journal = {Anticancer Research} }