A large-scale study of 1,446 patients with acute leukemias has found no significant difference in survival after transplant using unmanipulated haploidentical grafts vs. unrelated cord blood grafts. Patients had ALL (n=528) or de novo AML (n=918), and the median follow-up time was 24 months. Additional results indicate no differences between the two graft choices in relapse incidence, non-relapse mortality, and leukemia-free survival. Unrelated cord blood transplantation was associated with higher graft failure and delayed engraftment in both AML and ALL recipients. The researchers concluded that “both approaches are valid for acute leukemia patients lacking an HLA-matched donor and both strategies expand the donor pool for patients in need.”
Comparable Outcomes in Haploidentical, Unrelated Cord Blood HCT
Jun 2015