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Graft-versus-host Disease

The number of infused CD34+ cells does not influence the incidence of GVHD or the outcome of allogeneic PBSC transplantation, using reduced-intensity conditioning and antithymocyte globulin

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 45, pages 1189–1196 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

The influence of graft composition on the outcome of reduced-intensity (RIC) allogeneic PBSC transplantation (allo-PBSC) remains controversial. In this study, we analyzed the impact of CD34+ cell dose on the incidence of GVHD, and on the outcome after allo-PBSC, in 103 patients with hematological malignancies, using a uniform RIC regimen. The following variables were included in statistical analysis: (1) number of C34+ cells, (2) high-risk vs low-risk disease status, (3) matched related vs matched unrelated donor, (4) female donor to male recipient vs any other combination, (5) age of recipient (above vs below the median). Univariate and multivariate analysis did not reveal any association between CD34+ cell dose and acute grade-2 to grade-4, cGVHD, non-relapse mortality (NRM), relapse rate (RR) and OS. High-risk disease status was the only variable independently associated with increased NRM (P=0.001), increased RR (P=0.012) and decreased OS (P<0.001). The same results were obtained when analysis was restricted to a subgroup of 55 patients with myeloid neoplasms. The influence of graft composition on the outcome of RIC allo-PBSC should be further investigated via well-controlled randomized prospective studies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Danny Cunniff Leukemia Research Laboratory, the Gabrielle Rich Leukemia Research Foundation, the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation and the Novotny Trust for their continuous support of our ongoing basic and clinical research. This research was partially supported by an unrestricted grant from ESP Pharma, Edison, NJ, USA.

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  1. BMT and Cancer Immunotherapy Department, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

    P Tsirigotis, M Y Shapira, R Or, M Bitan, S Samuel, B Gesundheit, A Ackerstein, A Abdul-Hai, S Slavin & I B Resnick

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Tsirigotis, P., Shapira, M., Or, R. et al. The number of infused CD34+ cells does not influence the incidence of GVHD or the outcome of allogeneic PBSC transplantation, using reduced-intensity conditioning and antithymocyte globulin. Bone Marrow Transplant 45, 1189–1196 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2009.331

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