A comprehensive comparison between TBI vs non-TBI-based conditioning regimen in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

We aimed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and latent toxicity of total body irradiation (TBI)-based conditioning regimens compared to non-TBI regimens for pediatric patients (under 18 years old) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). A systematic search was performed on MEDLINE, Scopus, WOS, and PMC. Also, a search for grey literature was performed on Google Scholar and relevant articles’ references were included. Relevant articles which met the inclusion criteria were retrieved up to October 31th, 2022. CMA version 2 was used for the quantitative synthesis of the data. Eight studies on efficacy and safety of TBI and non-TBI as a conditioning regimen were analyzed and six comparative studies on late toxicity were investigated. The meta-analysis revealed a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.508 (95% CI 0.96–2.35) for overall survival (OS) in instances of non-TBI conditioning. Also, an HR of 1.503 (95% CI 1.006–2.25) for disease-free- survival (DFS) favoring TBI-based conditioning. Late complications were reported to be significantly higher in the TBI conditioning regimen group than in the non-TBI group. It appears that non-TBI regimens are as effective as TBI regimens in pediatrics with ALL regarding OS. Occurrence of latent toxicity is higher with TBI conditioning regimen. Conversely, TBI-based regimens are superior to non-TBI conditioning regimens regarding DFS. Considering all aspects, non-TBI conditioning regimens can be an alternative treatment option for pediatric ALL undergoing HSCT.