• Franco Aversa, Adelmo Terenzi, Antonio Tabilio, Franca Falzetti, Alessandra Carotti, Stelvio Ballanti, Rita Felicini, Flavio Falcinelli, Andrea Velardi, Loredana Ruggeri, Teresa Aloisi, Jean Pierre Saab, Antonella Santucci, Katia Perruccio, Maria Paola Martelli, Cristina Mecucci, Yair Reisner, and Massimo F Martelli.
• HSCT Unit, Hematology Section, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Perugia, 06100 Perugia, Italy. aversa@unipg.it
• J. Clin. Oncol. 2005 May 20; 23 (15): 3447-54.

PurposeEstablishment of hematopoietic stem-cell (HSC) transplantation from mismatched relatives is feasible for patients with acute leukemia. As our original method of graft processing was unsuitable for large-scale clinical studies, we use automated devices for CD34+ cell purification.Patients And MethodsSixty-seven patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML; 19 complete remission [CR] 1, 14 CR 2, nine CR > 2, 25 in relapse) and 37 with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL; 14 CR 1, eight CR 2, two CR > 2, 13 in relapse) were conditioned with total-body irradiation, thiotepa, fludarabine, and antithymocyte globulin. Peripheral-blood progenitor cells were mobilized with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and depleted of T-cells using CD34+ cell immunoselection. No post-transplantation graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) prophylaxis was administered.ResultsPrimary engraftment was achieved in 94 of 101 assessable patients. Six of the seven patients who rejected the primary graft, engrafted after a second transplantation. Overall, 100 of 101 patients engrafted. Acute GvHD developed in eight of 100 patients, and chronic GvHD, in five of 70 assessable patients. Thirty-eight patients died of nonleukemic causes. Relapse occurred in nine of 66 patients receiving transplantation in remission and in 17 of 38 receiving transplantation in relapse. Median follow-up of the 40 patients who survived event-free was 22 months (range, 1 to 65 months). Event-free survival (+/- standard deviation) rate was 48% +/- 8% and 46% +/- 10%, respectively, for the 42 AML and 24 ALL patients receiving transplantation in remission.ConclusionOur transplantation procedure provides reliable, reproducible CD34+ cell purification, high engraftment rates, and prevention of GvHD. The mismatched-related transplant emerges as a viable, alternative source of stem cells for acute leukemia patients without matched donors and/or those who urgently need transplantation.

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