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Graft-versus-Tumour Effects

Anti-leukaemic role of acute GvHD after unrelated haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in intermediate- to high-risk acute myelogenous leukaemia

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 40, pages 1069–1074 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Little is known about the role of acute GvHD (aGvHD) based on the concept of graft-versus-leukaemia effect (GVLE) after unrelated donor haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (uHSCT). We evaluated 67 uHSCTs performed with multinational unrelated donors for patients with AML. The median follow-up duration was 18 months (range 7–61). The majority of patients had intermediate- or high-risk cytogenetic findings. The conditioning regimen for most patients consisted of cyclophosphamide plus total body irradiation (n=56) with our standard GvHD prophylaxis containing tacrolimus plus a short course of methotrexate. The incidence of aGvHD and chronic GvHD was 50 and 52%, respectively. Eight patients (12%) have relapsed to date. The estimated overall disease-free survival (DFS) rate at 5 years was 67%. Notably fewer relapses were seen when aGvHD developed (P=0.008). Specifically, high-risk AML patients had a much lower relapse rate when they developed aGvHD (P=0.01), compared with the intermediate-risk group. Therefore, the development of aGvHD after uHSCT in AML patients is closely related to a lower relapse rate, probably in association with GVLE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Catholic Hemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Center, St Mary’s Hospital, Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

    H-J Kim, W-S Min, K-S Eom, B-S Cho, S-Y Kim, J-N Bok, K-S Kim, C-K Min, S Lee, S-G Cho, D-W Kim, J-W Lee & C-C Kim

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  1. H-J Kim
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Correspondence to W-S Min.

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Kim, HJ., Min, WS., Eom, KS. et al. Anti-leukaemic role of acute GvHD after unrelated haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in intermediate- to high-risk acute myelogenous leukaemia. Bone Marrow Transplant 40, 1069–1074 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705873

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