Donor clonal hematopoiesis increases risk of acute graft versus host disease after matched sibling transplantation

Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is associated with older age and an increased risk of myeloid malignancies and cardiovascular complications. We analyzed donor DNA samples in patients with AML/MDS who underwent first allogeneic stem cell transplant (SCT) to investigate the association between donor CH and transplant outcomes. We performed targeted deep sequencing of 300 genes on donor blood samples and identified CH with the minimum variant allele frequency of 2%. Among 363 donors, 65 (18%) had CH. The most frequently mutated genes were DNMT3A (31 of 65; 48%), TET2 (16 of 65; 25%), PPM1D (5 of 65, 8%), and ASXL1 (7 of 65; 11%). Transplant outcomes: time to neutrophil and platelet recovery, relapse incidence, transplant-related mortality and progression-free survival, were comparable by donor CH. However, risk of grade II–IV and III–IV acute graft versus host disease (aGvHD) at 6 months after transplant was higher with donor CH vs. without donor CH (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.4, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.6–3.6, p < 0.001 and HR = 3.8, 95% CI = 1.6–8.9, p = 0.003). In this homogenous population of AML/MDS patients, donor CH was associated with increased risk of grade II–IV and III–IV aGvHD. Further studies to investigate the mechanisms of increased aGvHD and therapeutic interventions to improve aGvHD in the context of donor CH are warranted.