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Splenectomy status of the patient may have impact on response to donor lymphocyte infusions

Leukemia volume 21, pages 2049–2050 (2007)Cite this article

We read with interest the recent article on donor lymphocyte infusions (DLI) for 81 chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients, who relapsed after allogeneic hematopoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).1 The authors report that response to DLI is dose-dependent and the effective cell dose is influenced by the quantity and phase of CML at relapse and degree of donor–recipient histocompatibility. The investigators analyzed the possible impact on response to DLI of several other factors including donor–recipient sex mismatch, post-DLI acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), T-cell depletion at the time of stem cell transplantation (SCT), interval between either SCT or relapse and first DLI, patient's age at the time of DLI, and none turned out to be statistically significant. The effect of a functional spleen on DLI response was not addressed in their study.

Based on our previous experience in a splenectomized patient with CML, in whom a GVL reaction could not be obtained with escalating doses of DLI, we hypothesized the possible role of spleen in development of GVL and GVH reactions. Interestingly, splenectomy was not stressed at all in the literature among several factors that may influence DLI response.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric Hematology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

    D Uckan-Çetinkaya, S Unal & M Çetin

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

    Ü Sarikabadayi

  3. Division of Genetics, Hacetepe University, Ankara, Turkey

    D Aktaş

  4. Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Yeditepe University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Y Koç

Authors
  1. D Uckan-Çetinkaya
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  2. S Unal
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  3. M Çetin
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  4. Ü Sarikabadayi
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  5. D Aktaş
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  6. Y Koç
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Correspondence to D Uckan-Çetinkaya.

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Uckan-Çetinkaya, D., Unal, S., Çetin, M. et al. Splenectomy status of the patient may have impact on response to donor lymphocyte infusions. Leukemia 21, 2049–2050 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2404803

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