Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Allografting

Allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplants for patients with relapsed acute leukemia: long-term outcome

Abstract

We assessed the long-term outcome of patients with relapsed acute myeloid (n=86) or acute lymphoid leukemia (n=66), undergoing an allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplantation in our unit. The median blast count in the marrow was 30%. Conditioning regimen included total body irradiation (TBI) (10–12 Gy) in 115 patients. The donor was a matched donor (n=132) or a family mismatched donor (n=20). Twenty-two patients (15%) survive disease free, with a median follow-up of 14 years: 18 are off medications. The cumulative incidence of transplant related mortality is 40% and the cumulative incidence of relapse related death (RRD) is 45%. In multivariate analysis of survival, favorable predictors were chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) (P=0.0003), donor other than family mismatched (P=0.02), donor age less than 34 years (P=0.02) and blast count less than 30% (P=0.07). Patients with all four favorable predictors had a 54% survival. In multivariate analysis of relapse, protective variables were the use of TBI (P=0.005) and cGvHD (P=0.01). This study confirms that a fraction of relapsed leukemias is cured with an allogeneic transplant: selection of patients with a blast count <30%, identification of young, human leukocyte antigen-matched donors and the use of total body radiation may significantly improve the outcome.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Thomas ED, Buckner CD, Banaji M, Clift RA, Fefer A, Flournoy N et al. One hundred patients with acute leukemia treated by chemotherapy, total body irradiation, and allogeneic marrow transplantation. Blood 1977; 49: 511–533.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Sierra J, Storer B, Hansen JA, Martin PJ, Petersdorf EW, Woolfrey A et al. Unrelated donor marrow transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia: an update of the Seattle experience. Bone Marrow Transplant 2000; 26: 397–404.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Petropoulos D, Worth LL, Mullen CA, Madden R, Mahajan A, Choroszy M et al. Total body irradiation, fludarabine, melphalan, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for advanced pediatric hematologic malignancies. Bone Marrow Transplant 2006; 37: 463–467.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Blume KG, Kopecky KJ, Henslee-Downey JP, Forman SJ, Stiff PJ, LeMaistre CF et al. A prospective randomized comparison of total body irradiation-etoposide versus busulfan-cyclophosphamide as preparatory regimens for bone marrow transplantation in patients with leukemia who were not in first remission: a Southwest Oncology Group study. Blood 1993; 81: 2187–2193.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Schmid C, Schleuning M, Ledderose G, Tischer J, Kolb HJ . Sequential regimen of chemotherapy, reduced-intensity conditioning for allogeneic stem-cell transplantation, and prophylactic donor lymphocyte transfusion in high-risk acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. J Clin Oncol 2005; 23: 5675–5687.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Matthews DC, Appelbaum FR, Eary JF, Fisher DR, Durack LD, Bush SA et al. Development of a marrow transplant regimen for acute leukemia using targeted hematopoietic irradiation delivered by 131I-labeled anti-CD45 antibody, combined with cyclophosphamide and total body irradiation. Blood 1995; 85: 1122–1131.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Burke JM, Caron PC, Papadopoulos EB, Divgi CR, Sgouros G, Panageas KS et al. Cytoreduction with iodine-131-anti-CD33 antibodies before bone marrow transplantation for advanced myeloid leukemias. Bone Marrow Transplant 2003; 32: 549–556.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Vitale V, Bacigalupo A, Van Lint MT, Frassoni F, Ricci G, Siracusa G et al. Fractionated total body irradiation in marrow transplantation for leukemia. Br J Haematol 1983; 55: 547.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Bacigalupo A, van Lint MT, Valbonesi M, Lercari G, Carlier P, Lamparelli T et al. Thiotepa cyclophosphamide followed by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor mobilized allogeneic peripheral blood cells in adults with advanced leukemia. Blood 1996; 88: 353–357.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Bacigalupo A, Mordini N, Pitto A, Piaggio G, Podestà M, Benvenuto F et al. Transplantation of HLA-mismatched CD34+ selected cells in patients with advanced malignancies: severe immunodeficiency and related complications. Br J Haematol 1997; 98: 760–766.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bacigalupo A, Lamparelli T, Gualandi F, Bregante S, Raiola AM, Di Grazia C et al. Prophylactic antithymocyte globulin reduces the risk of chronic graft-versus-host disease in alternative-donor bone marrow transplants. Biol Blood Marrow Tr 2002; 8: 656–661.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Bacigalupo A, Sormani MP, Lamparelli T, Gualandi F, Occhini D, Bregante S et al. Reducing transplant related mortalità after allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplantation. Haematologica 2004; 89: 1238–1247.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Clift RA, Buckner CD, Appelbaum FR, Bearman SI, Petersen FB, Fisher LD et al. Allogeneic marrow transplantation in patients with acute myeloid leukemia in first remission: a randomized trial of two irradiation regimens. Blood 1990; 76: 1867–1871.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Socie G, Clift RA, Blaise D, Devergie A, Ringden O, Martin P et al. Busulfan plus cyclophosphamide compared with total-body irradiation plus cyclophosphamide before marrow transplantation for myeloid leukemia: long-term follow-up of 4 randomized studies. Blood 2001; 98: 3569–3574.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Bacigalupo A, van Lint MT, Occhini D, Gualandi F, Lamperelli T, Sogno G et al. Increased risk of leukemia relapse with high-dose cyclosporine A after allogeneic marrow transplantation for acute leukemia. Blood 1991; 77: 1423–1428.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Locatelli F, Zecca M, Rondelli R, Bonetti F, Dini G, Prete A et al. Graft versus host disease prophylaxis with low-dose cyclosporine-A reduces the risk of relapse in children with acute leukemia given HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplantation: results of a randomized trial. Blood 2000; 95: 1572–1579.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Bacigalupo A, Lamparelli T, Gualandi F, Bregante S, Raiola AM, Di Grazia C et al. Increased risk of leukemia relapse with high-dose cyclosporine A after allogeneic marrow transplantation for acute leukemia: a 10 year follow up of a randomized study. Blood 2001; 98: 3174–3175.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Rocha V, Cornish J, Sievers EL, Filipovich A, Locatelli F, Peters C et al. Comparison of outcomes of unrelated bone marrow and umbilical cord blood transplants in children with acute leukemia. Blood 2001; 97: 2962–2971.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Barker JN, Weisdorf DJ, DeFor TE, Blazar BR, McGlave PB, Miller JS et al. Transplantation of 2 partially HLA-matched umbilical cord blood units to enhance engraftment in adults with hematologic malignancy. Blood 2005; 105: 1343–1347.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Magro E, Regidor C, Cabrera R, Sanjuan I, Fores R, Garcia-Marco JA et al. Early hematopoietic recovery after single unit unrelated cord blood transplantation in adults supported by co-infusion of mobilized stem cells from a third party donor. Haematologica 2006; 91: 640–648.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Associazione Italiana Ricerca contro il Cancro (AIRC) Milano grant to AB and Fondazione Cassa Risparmio Genova e Imperia (CARIGE). The great work of our nursing staff is gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A Bacigalupo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bacigalupo, A., Lamparelli, T., Gualandi, F. et al. Allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplants for patients with relapsed acute leukemia: long-term outcome. Bone Marrow Transplant 39, 341–346 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705594

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705594

Keywords

Search

Quick links