Cytotect (R) CP as salvage therapy in patients with CMV infection following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: a multicenter retrospective study

{Cytomegalovirus is one of the main contributing factors to high mortality rates in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). The main factors of treatment failure are both drug resistance and intolerance. In some cases, Cytotect (R) CP CMV-hyperimmune globulin is used as salvage therapy. This study aims to investigate the safety and efficacy of Cytotect (R) CP as a salvage therapy in patients with CMV infection after allo-HCT. Twenty-three consecutive patients received Cytotect (R) CP for CMV infection after prior CMV therapy. At the time of Cytotect (R) CP introduction, 17 patients (74%) had developed acute GVHD and 15 patients (64%) were receiving steroid treatment; Cytotect (R) CP was used as monotherapy (n = 7) and in combination (n = 16). Overall, response was observed in 18 patients (78%) with a median time of 15 days (range: 3-51). Of the 18 responders, 4 experienced CMV reactivation, while 5 responders died within 100 days of beginning treatment. Of these 5 deaths, 4 were due to causes unrelated to CMV. Estimated 100-day OS from the introduction of Cytotect (R) CP was 69.6%. No statistically significant difference was observed in 100-day OS between responders and non-responders (73.7% vs 50.0%