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Allografting

Unrelated SCT induces long-term remission in patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 48, pages 799–802 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Blastic plasmacytoid DC neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare haematopoietic malignancy with an aggressive behaviour. We evaluated five patients allografted as consolidative treatment with an unrelated donor in first or subsequent remission. Four patients received a reduced intensity-conditioning regimen because of age or co-morbidities. As the stem cell sources, two umbilical cord blood–(UCB), two PBSC- and one BM graft were used. No GVHD was observed in the patients who received a UCB graft. However, both developed a post-transplant-associated lymphoproliferative disease. So far, only one patient has experienced relapse and was consecutively treated by escalated donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI). A potent graft-versus-leukaemia (GVL) effect was induced leading to a 17-month-long CR. Four patients are still in ongoing CR with median disease-free and overall survivals of 17 and 21 months. Thus, allogeneic SCT in BPDCN offers a potential curative option for patients with a compatible donor. UCB is an attractive alternative as a stem cell source. For relapsing patients, DLI can exert a powerful GVL effect.

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Author notes

  1. M Unteregger and A Valentin: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Haematology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    M Unteregger, A Valentin, W Zinke-Cerwenka, K Troppan, A Deutsch, W Linkesch & P Neumeister

  2. Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    L Cerroni

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  1. M Unteregger
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  2. A Valentin
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Correspondence to P Neumeister.

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Unteregger, M., Valentin, A., Zinke-Cerwenka, W. et al. Unrelated SCT induces long-term remission in patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm. Bone Marrow Transplant 48, 799–802 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2012.242

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