Sustained engraftment post bone marrow transplant despite anti-platelet antibodies in Glanzmann thrombasthenia

BACKGROUND: Patients with Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) have normal platelet counts but abnormal platelet aggregation and carry the risk of life-threatening bleeding. We report three patients who received bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for type I GT and discuss the risk and management of anti-platelet antibodies. PATIENTS AND RESULTS: Diagnosis of GT was made through abnormal platelet aggregation studies or the absence of GPIIb/IIIa by flow cytometry. All patients had severe bleeding requiring multiple red blood cell transfusions. One patient received an unrelated donor transplant and two received matched sibling donor transplants following conditioning therapy with busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and fludarabine. Two patients developed an anti-platelet antibody, treated in one with intravenous immune globulin (IVIG). Engraftment of white blood cells and platelets was achieved on day +13 to +14 and +17 to +25, respectively. Complete donor chimerism and GPIIb/IIIa+ platelets are sustained at +22 to +30 months post transplant. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, patients with GT and history of severe hemorrhage can be cured with BMT, but the presence of anti-platelet antibodies should be sought and platelet transfusions minimized prior to transplant. IVIG may be helpful in cases of refractory immune thrombocytopenia related to anti-platelet antibodies. Improvement in transplant-related complications with current transplant regimens allows consideration of BMT for life-threatening non-malignant disorders such as GT.     

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with a conditioning regimen of busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide for children with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML): a phase I study of the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium

BACKGROUND: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an important treatment modality for children with AML. The optimal conditioning regimen is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the appropriate dosing of etoposide in combination with busulfan and cyclophosphamide in this setting. PROCEDURE: Twenty patients with a diagnosis of AML in first or second remission, or myelodysplasia scheduled for bone marrow transplantation, were included in this study. Patients received busulfan 640 mg/m(2) in 16 doses, cyclophosphamide 120 to 150 mg/kg in two doses, and etoposide from 40-60 mg/kg as a single dose. Extensive toxicity data was collected. RESULTS: Nineteen patients were evaluable for toxicity. Mucositis was seen in all patients. Four patients developed bacteremia and one patient died from overwhelming sepsis on day +3. Four patients developed moderate to severe skin toxicity. The major dose-limiting +3 toxicity was hepatic toxicity, which occurred in 14 of 19 patients. Eight patients developed clinical veno-occlusive disease, including three patients at dose level 4, two of whom had life-threatening disease. This hepatic toxicity defined the MTD of 640 mg/m(2) busulfan, 120 mg/kg of cyclophosphamide, and 60 mg/kg of etoposide. Overall, 9 of 20 patients enrolled in the study survive in remission, 8/14 allogeneic (median follow-up 44 months), and one of six autologous patients (follow-up, 54 months). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the combination of busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and etoposide at the doses defined above has activity in the treatment of children with high-risk AML/MDS undergoing allogeneic HSCT. Whether it offers an advantage over other conditioning regimens will require a randomized trial with a larger cohort of patients.     

低剂量肝素联合前列腺素E1预防重型β-地中海贫血患儿异基因造血干细胞移植后的肝静脉阻塞病

目的：研究低剂量肝素联合前列腺素E1(PGE1)预防重型β-地中海贫血患儿异基因造血干细胞移植后的肝静脉阻塞病(hepatic veno-occlusive disease, HVOD)的临床效果。方法：43例重型β-地中海贫血患儿接受异基因造血干细胞移植，研究组给予肝素钠每日100 IU/kg，24 h微量泵维持静脉注射，PGE1每日 7.2 μg/kg，输液泵持续静脉输注10 h以上;对照组给予PGE1每日7.2 μg/kg，输液泵持续静脉输注10 h以上，两组均用至移植后第30天，以预防HVOD。结果：研究组6例发生HVOD（6/23，26.1%），其中3例轻度、3例中度；对照组12例发生HVOD(12/20，60.0%)，其中3例轻度、3例中度、6例重度。研究组HVOD的发生率低于对照组，差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。经治疗后研究组5例治愈，1例死于其他并发症，对照组10例治愈，2例死亡。两种预防方案在使用过程中均未出现明显的药物毒副反应。结论：该研究所采用的低剂量肝素钠+PGE1预防HVOD的方案比单独采用PGE1更有效。［中国当代儿科杂志，2007，9（4）：343-346］     

Allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in children with homozygous beta-thalassemia and severe beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E disease

To determine the outcome of children with homozygous beta-thalassemia (beta/beta) and severe beta-thalassemia/hemoglobin E disease (beta/E) who underwent allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). The authors conducted a cohort study of allogeneic PBSCT in beta/beta and beta/E patients who had 6/6 or 5/6 HLA-matched sibling donors. All patients received a conditioning regimen including busulfan and cyclophosphamide, except one who received busul-fan and cyclophosphamide plus antithymocyte globulin. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine A and methotrexate for eight patients and cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil for one patient. Donors received G-CSF for 4 days before leukapheresis collections. There were five beta/beta and four beta/E patients in this study. The median age was 9 years (range 1.5-10 years). The median CD34+ cell count was 7.4 x 10(6) cells/kg recipient body weight. All patients achieved neutrophil and platelet engraftment with a median time of 15 days and 21 days respectively. Acute GVHD grade 2 to 4 appeared in four patients (grade 2, n = 3; grade 4, n = 1). Three patients developed chronic GVHD (limited, n = 2; extensive, n = 1). All patients were alive with a median follow-up time of 23 months (range 7-52 months). Neither graft failure nor graft rejection was observed. Allogeneic PBSCT is feasible for children with beta/beta and beta/E, although the incidence of GVHD was apparently high compared with bone marrow transplant study in Thais.     

Outcome for children <4 years of age with malignant central nervous system tumors treated with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell rescue

BACKGROUND: Children <4 years of age (yo) with malignant central nervous system (CNS) tumors have a dismal prognosis. In an attempt to delay or obviate radiation therapy (XRT) and improve outcome, our institution has treated children <4 yo with newly diagnosed malignant CNS tumors with high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and autologous stem cell rescue (ASCR) followed by selective XRT. PROCEDURE: Fifteen children (age 4-38 months) with malignant CNS tumors have completed treatment with HDC/ASCR. All patients received three cycles of induction chemotherapy (cisplatin 3.5 mg/kg- day 0, cyclophosphamide 60 mg/kg- day 1 and 2, etoposide 2.5 mg/kg- day 0-2, vincristine 0.05 mg/kg, day 0, 7, 14) followed by three cycles of HDC (carboplatin 17 mg/kg and thiotepa 6 mg/kg, day 0 and 1) with ASCR. Histology included five medulloblastomas, four primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET), five malignant gliomas, and one ependymoma. Outcome and treatment toxicities were evaluated by retrospective chart review. RESULTS: Median follow-up time of the 15 patients is 22 months (range 8-82 months). The 1- and 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) is 86.1% and 52.2% and overall survival (OS) 91.6% and 72.1%, respectively. Ten patients are alive and disease free 3-77 months (median 18 months) after having completed HDC/ASCR, thereoff five received XRT. Toxicity was primarily myelosuppression. There was no treatment mortality. CONCLUSIONS: We are encouraged by the outcome of 15 children <4 yo with malignant CNS tumors treated with tandem cycles of HDC and ASCR at our institution. The treatment regimen is relatively well tolerated.     

Reduced‐toxicity alternate‐donor stem cell transplantation with posttransplant cyclophosphamide for primary immunodeficiency disorders

We describe here the outcomes of reduced‐toxicity alternate‐donor stem cell transplant (SCT) with posttransplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) for primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDs) in eight children (haploidentical—seven and matched unrelated donor—one). The conditioning was with serotherapy (alemtuzumab‐3/rabbit‐anti‐thymoglobulin‐5); fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and total body irradiation‐5 (additional thiotepa‐3); fludarabine and treosulfan‐2; and fludarabine and busulfan‐1. All received PTCy 50 mg/kg on days 3 and 4 as graft versus host disease prophylaxis along with tacrolimus and mycophenolate. Mean CD34 dose was 13.8 × 10⁶/kg. Two children died because of PIDs. Acute graft versus host disease up to grades I and II was seen in three children. All six survivors are fully donor and disease free at median follow‐up of 753 days. Alternate donor SCT with PTCy is feasible in PID and has good outcomes.     

Low toxicity and efficacy of (153)samarium-EDTMP and melphalan as a conditioning regimen for secondary acute myelogenous leukemia

We report the case of a 15-yr-old girl who developed secondary acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) 4 yr after completion of therapy for metastatic Ewing sarcoma (primary right acetabulum with metastatic disease to the lungs). Peripheral blood stem cells were collected after the second cycle of chemotherapy with the plan for future consolidation with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell rescue; however, because of the patient's excellent response to chemotherapy and surgery, therapy was completed without the need for high-dose chemotherapy. No human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched related donor was available for a bone marrow transplant. Because of previous lung radiation, high-dose samarium [30 mCi/kg of samarium-153 ethylenediaminetetramethylenephosphonate ((153)Sm-EDTMP) day -14] and melphalan (140 mg/m(2) day -2) were chosen as the conditioning regimen to avoid potential lung complications. The patient received an infusion of 6.1 x 10(8)/kg mononuclear autologous cells on day 0. She achieved engraftment on day +23. Three years after transplantation, she continues to have complete remission. Samarium and melphalan constitute a well-tolerated regimen with potential antileukemic activity.     

Limited Tolerance of Intensified Conditioning Regimens in Children Receiving Methotrexate/Cyclosporin A for Graft-Versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis

Twenty-one patients with a median age of 9 years (0.5-19) underwent intensifid myeloblative therapy: 1800 mg/m² etoposide (VP) was added to 120 mg/kg cyclophosphamide (CY) and 12 Gy fractionated total body irradiation (FTBI) or 12-16 mg/kg busulfan (BU) for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (11 patients), acute myeloid leukemia (8 patients), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (1 patient), or myelodysplastic syndrome (1 patient). Severe liver toxicity occurred in 5 of 7 children (71 %) receiving short-term methotrexate (MTX) and additional cyclosporin A (CSA) for prophylaxis of graft versus-host disease (GVHD). Three of them died of subsequent acute renal failure on days 8, 13, and 34.

In contrast, acute severe organ toxicity occurred in only 1 of 14 children (7%) receiving the same intensified regimens who were autografted (7 pts) or received MTX alone for GVHD prophylaxis (7 pts). These observations suggest that GVHD prophylaxis with MTX and CSA may adversely influence the tolerance of intensified antileukemic regimens in children.     

Defibrotide for the treatment of hepatic veno‐occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome following nontransplant‐associated chemotherapy: Final results from a post hoc analysis of data from an expanded‐access program

1 Background

Hepatic veno‐occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS) is a potentially fatal complication of conditioning for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) but can occur after nontransplant‐associated chemotherapy. Following HSCT, VOD/SOS with multi‐organ dysfunction (MOD) may be associated with >80% mortality. Defibrotide is approved to treat severe hepatic VOD/SOS post‐HSCT in patients aged >1 month in the European Union and hepatic VOD/SOS with renal or pulmonary dysfunction post‐HSCT in the United States. Prior to US approval, defibrotide was available to treat VOD/SOS through an expanded‐access treatment (T‐IND) program. A post hoc analysis of nontransplant‐associated VOD/SOS patients treated with defibrotide initiated within 30 days of starting chemotherapy and followed for 70 days is presented.

2 Procedure

Patients were diagnosed by Baltimore or modified Seattle criteria or biopsy, and received defibrotide 25 mg/kg/day in four divided doses (≥21 days recommended).

3 Results

Of the 1,154 patients in the T‐IND, 137 had nontransplant‐associated VOD/SOS, 82 of whom developed VOD/SOS within 30 days of starting chemotherapy. Of them, 66 (80.5%) were aged ≤16 years. Across all the 82 patients, Kaplan–Meier estimated day +70 survival was 74.1%, 65.8% in patients with MOD (n = 38), and 81.3% in patients without MOD (n = 44). By age group, Kaplan–Meier estimated day +70 survival was 80.1% in pediatric patients (n = 66) and 50.0% in adults (n = 16). Treatment‐related adverse events occurred in 26.8%.

4 Conclusions

In this post hoc analysis of 82 patients initiating defibrotide within 30 days of starting chemotherapy, Kaplan–Meier estimated survival was 74.1% at 70 days after defibrotide initiation. Safety profile was consistent with prior defibrotide studies.     

Second transplant with two unrelated cord blood units for early graft failure after cord blood transplantation for thalassemia

Abstract:  Early GF is a frequent complication following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with thalassemia. We report the outcome of double-unit CBT in three patients who developed early GF after CBT. The initial conditioning regimen consisted of i.v. Bu 14 mg/kg (day −9 to −6), i.v. Cy 200 mg/kg (day −5 to −2) and ATG at 120 mg/kg (day −4 to −1). They received GVHD prophylaxis with cyclosporine-A from day −3 and a short course of methylprednisolone (1 mg/kg i.v., every 12 h on days 5–19 with a taper, thereafter 25% decrease every other day). The interval between two transplants was seven and 10 months. The retransplant recipients were preconditioned with i.v. Bu 14 mg/kg (day −7 to −4), i.v. Cy 120 mg/kg (day –3 to –2) and ATG at 150 mg/kg (day −5 to −1 and +1 to +5). GVHD prophylaxis regimen was the same as the first transplant. Neutrophil engraftment were observed in all patients between day +15 and +26. All are alive, between nine and 11 months after retransplant. Our group reported successful utilization of double umblical cord blood grafts in thalassemia patients with early GF.     

High-dose busulfan and cyclophosphamide as a conditioning regimen for autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in childhood non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients: a long-term follow-up study

We analyzed the outcome in 22 children with refractory or relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma who underwent autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation between 1994 and 2009. The conditioning regimen used in all patients consisted of busulfan and cyclophosphamide. Median age was 6 years (range 2 to 16 y). The most common histologic subtype was Burkitt lymphoma. Ten patients were in complete remission and 12 in partial remission at the time of transplant. The median dose of CD34+ cells that was infused was 4.6 × 10/kg (range 2.1 to 58.7 × 10/kg). All the patients were engrafted, with a median time for neutrophils and platelets recovery of 11 (range, 8 to 15 d) and 14 (range, 9 to 60 d) days, respectively. Nonhematologic treatment-related toxicity included severe mucositis in 3 patients and hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in 1 patient. There were no transplant-related mortalities. With a median follow-up of 60 months (range, 4 to 180 d) the disease-free survival was 90 ± 6.5% for the whole group. This retrospective study shows a high long-term survival using busulfan/cyclophosphamide as conditioning regimen in children with refractory or relapsed non-Hodgkin lymphoma.     

Related donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for Fanconi anemia without radiation: a single center experience in Turkey

Abstract:  Eight children with FA underwent allogeneic HSCT without using irradiation for the conditioning regimen. Patients received two different conditioning regimens: first two patients received BU 1.5 mg/kg/day for four days and CY 10 mg/kg/day for four days and the other regimen was: Flu 30 mg/m²/day for five days, CY 10 mg/kg/day for two days, and ATG-Fresenius 9–10 mg/kg/day for four days. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of CsA + MTX for the first two patients and only CsA for the others. All patients received HLA-identical stem cells from related donors. Primary engraftment was demonstrated in all patients. No patient developed acute GVHD and one patient had chronic GVHD. Only one patient who received BU based regimen died because of VOD. Overall, seven patients (87.5%) are alive with stable full donor chimerism at a median follow-up time of 2.5 yr (range: 1.7–8.9 yr). None of the patients developed secondary malignancy. Based on our data, we conclude that Flu-based, non-irradiation conditioning regimen was safe with low organ toxicity and stable engraftment in FA patients undergoing HSCT from matched related donors.     

幼年粒单细胞白血病造血干细胞移植疗效初探

目的探讨造血干细胞移植治疗幼年粒单细胞白血病(JMML)的疗效。方法 5例JMML患儿接受无关供者脐血造血干细胞移植治疗。预处理均采用Bu/Cy+Mel+ATG方案:马利兰(0.8～1.0)mg/kg,每6小时1次共用16次(-8d～-5d);环磷酰胺60mg/(kg·d)用2d(-4～-3d);马法兰140mg/m2用1次(-2d):抗胸腺细胞球蛋白2.5mg/(kg·d)连用4d(-4～-1d)。GVHD预防采用CsA+MP±MMF。结果 5例成功植入,3例复发,1例复发后死于卡氏肺囊虫肺炎,1例死于CMV感染相关间质性肺炎,1例长期无病存活。结论 5例JMML移植初步治疗结果不满意,移植失败主要原因为白血病复发。为减少复发,今后需进一步改进移植方法 ,包括选择其他供体、改进GVHD预防方案。     

Fludarabine-based protocol for human umbilical cord blood transplantation in children with Fanconi anemia.

PURPOSE: A novel conditioning regimen of fludarabine monophosphate (FLM), anti-T-lymphocyte globulin (ATG), and low-dose cyclophosphamide with no irradiation for human umbilical cord blood transplantation (HUCBT) for the treatment of Fanconi anemia (FA) is described. PATIENT AND METHODS: A 12-year-old girl with FA received a human umbilical cord blood transplant from a fully matched sibling donor. After the HUCBT, the patient was given granulocyte colony stimulating factor in combination with erythropoietin. Pretransplant conditioning consisted of FLM (30 mg/m2/d) from day -10 to day -5, cyclophosphamide (10 mg/kg/d) on day -7 and -6, and rabbit ATG (ATG-Frasenius, 10 mg/kg/d) from day -4 to day -1. Cyclosporin A (3 mg/kg/d) was administered from day -1 as graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis. Cord blood from a sibling donor was used as a source of hematopoietic stem cells. RESULTS: Engraftment was normal and sustained. The regimen was well tolerated with very mild toxicity and no major transplant-related complications or >grade II graft-versus-host disease. Chimerism was 100% donor origin as determined by restriction fragment length polymorphism. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to achieve sustained engraftment and only mild toxicity in FA after HUCBT with a conditioning regimen of FLM, ATG, and cyclophosphamide with no irradiation. These preliminary results with this novel conditioning protocol are encouraging and should be evaluated in a larger group of patients with FA undergoing HUCBT.     

Children with sickle cell disease: growth and gonadal function after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

The aim of this study is to describe the growth, pubertal development, and gonadal function of a cohort of 30 sickle cell disease children who underwent bone marrow transplantation. They all received the standard pretransplant conditioning regimen of busulfan (14 or 16 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (200 mg/kg). Growth was normal both before and after transplant. Seven out of 10 girls had severe ovarian failure and requirement for estrogen replacement. Three out of 10 girls recovered some ovarian function posttransplant, with spontaneous pubertal development, menses, and 1 successful normal pregnancy. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) serum levels were very high during spontaneous puberty and slowly normalized thereafter in these 3 patients. The 3 girls with ovarian function recovery differed from the 7 others by the lower busulphan dose of the conditioning regimen they received (14 rather than 16 mg/kg). All boys showed spontaneous pubertal development. However, most of them had small testis and elevated serum FSH levels, reflecting germinal epithelium damage. Testosterone level was low normal and luteinizing hormone elevated, reflecting Leydig cell insufficiency. In conclusion, 7/10 girls had complete gonadal failure and most of the boys had spontaneous puberty but germinal epithelial failure. Serum FSH levels showed important variations over time in the same patient.     

Serial intense chemotherapy combining topotecan, etoposide, carboplatin and cyclophosphamide (TECC) followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell support in patients with high risk soft tissue sarcoma (STS)

In nine patients (pts) with soft tissue sarcoma refractory to conventional therapy (incomplete response or relapse) intensified chemotherapy was administered combining 0.75 mg/m (2) topotecan, 100 mg/m (2) etoposide, 100 mg/m (2) carboplatin and 200 mg/m (2) cyclophosphamide on day 1-5 (TECC). To avoid prolonged intervals between the serial TECC courses autologous hematopoietic stem cell supports (median 1.0 x 10(6) CD34+ cells per kg body weight (bw), range 0.5-2.8 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg bw, SD 0.6 x 10(6) CD34+ cells/kg bw) were given on day 7. All pts received granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF) from day 8 in addition. All together 39 TECC courses (minimum 2 courses, maximum 6 courses per pt) were administered, with a median interval of 32 (range 21-52) days until recovery. Leukopenia (<1000/microl) occurred 9 days (range 3-13 days; SD 2.4 days) after end of chemotherapy and persisted for 9 (range 3-15 days; SD 3 days) days. In 31/39 TECC courses readmission to hospital was required for supportive therapy mainly due to neutropenic fever. In this period pts received 0.83 (range 0-1) red blood cell units and 2.35 (range 1-4) platelet units. C-reactive protein in neutropenic pts as an indicator for infection after TECC chemotherapy was detectable after 36 of 39 chemotherapy courses leading to further supportive therapy (median 10.4 mg/dl, range 1.1-28.3 mg/dl; SD 6.67 mg/dl). Duration of total inpatient treatment per TECC course including supportive therapy was in median 13.5 days (range 7-53 days; SD 4.3 days). Only two children had a prolonged infection (77 and 100 days). Clinical and objective tumor responses, defined as complete remission, very good partial response and partial response were observed in 9/9 pts at eight weeks after the last TECC course and were maintained at six months in 7/9 pts. Median time to progression and median overall survival time after TECC chemotherapy were 20.3 months and 25.2 months, respectively. These data provide evidence that in very high risk pts refractory to standard high risk therapy, a combination of TECC chemotherapy and stem cell support is feasible in pts with incomplete remission respectively relapsed STS pts and demonstrates promising antineoplastic activity. Therefore, this regimen warrants further investigation in prospective trials.     

Prophylaxis and therapy using liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) for invasive fungal infections in children undergoing organ or allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation

Sixty-one children with a median age of 6 years (range 1-16) were given prophylaxis/therapy for 78 courses of treatment with liposomal amphotericin (AmBisome) and were reviewed retrospectively. Thirty-six received allogeneic bone marrow, 22 a liver transplant, 2 kidneys and 1 a liver and kidney. AmBisome was given as prophylaxis in 30 episodes, as treatment for suspected invasive fungal infections (IFI) in 33 and for a verified IFI in 15. AmBisome prophylaxis was given for a median of 14 days in a dose of 1 mg/kg/day. The median dose of AmBisome was 2.1 mg/kg/day (range 0.9-5.0). The median duration of therapy was 10 days in children with suspected IFI and 20 days in children with verified IFI. The total dose ranged from 0.025 g up to a maximum of 3.95 g. Proven and probable side effects of AmBisome were a decrease in the level of serum potassium (30/78 cases), renal toxicity (22), an increase in the alkaline phosphatases (24), back pain (2), fever and abdominal pain (2), anaphylactic reaction (1), an increase in the bilirubin level (1), nausea (1), chest pain (1) and fever (1). Of 31 children with suspected IFI, fever disappeared in 21 (68%). In 14 verified or suspected IFI cases treated for 5 days or more, the clinical cure rate was 12 (86%). Eradication of fungi from a deep site was verified in 8/10 and the survival rate from 1 1/2 years to more than 7 years was 7/12 (58%). We conclude that AmBisome was well tolerated as prophylaxis and therapy in transplanted children, few acute toxic side effects were seen and the cure rate in verified IFI was high.     

Low risk of graft-versus-host disease with transplantation of CD34 selected peripheral blood progenitor cells from alternative donors for Fanconi anemia

OBJECTIVES: Transplant results for Fanconi anemia with alternative-donor bone marrow transplantation currently entail a high incidence of graft failure and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The authors sought to improve outcome in this disease category with alternative donors with a 5-6/6 antigen match by transplantation of highly purified peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) using the Isolex 300i v2.5 device as a means of T-cell depletion to lessen the risk of GVHD. METHODS: All Fanconi anemia patients (n = 8) received the same preparative regimen that included total body irradiation (450 cGy), Cytoxan (20 mg/kg), ATGAM, and fludarabine (120 mg/m2). The cell dose of CD34+ cells was a median of 11.4 x 10(6)/kg; the cell dose of CD3+ cells was a median of 1.9 x 10(4)/kg. Primary engraftment was rapid in all patients, with neutrophil recovery occurring at a median of day 10 and platelet count more than 50,000 on day 27. Two patients subsequently had secondary graft failure. Despite lack of cyclosporine GVHD prophylaxis, only two patients developed acute GVHD (both grade I), and no patients developed chronic GVHD. Three patients died: one at day 59 secondary to disseminated fungal infection, the second at day 196 during a second transplant, and the third at day 202 due to graft failure. With a median follow-up of 12 months, the overall survival was 58 +/- 18%. CONCLUSIONS: Transplantation of CD34-selected PBPCs from alternative donors results in a very low risk of GVHD in patients with Fanconi anemia.     

The outcome of children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) post-allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) is not improved by the addition of etoposide to the conditioning regimen

BACKGROUND: Relapse remains a concern for children with AML undergoing allogeneic SCT, so in an effort to reduce the risk of relapse in these patients, we intensified our pre-SCT preparation by adding etoposide to the standard busulfan and cyclophosphamide regimen. PROCEDURE: We retrospectively analyzed the collected data and compared the two groups; Group A (n = 18) included patients who received busulfan 16 mg/kg plus cyclophosphamide 200 mg/kg (Bu/Cy), and Group B (n = 48) included patients who received busulfan 12 mg/kg, cyclophosphamide 90 mg/kg in addition to etoposide 60 mg/kg (Bu/Cy/VP). The patients' characteristics were similar in the two groups. RESULTS: No significant difference in the overall outcome was noted; the 5-year overall survival was 50% and 53.3% for Groups A and B, respectively (P = 0.9). Similarly, the 5-year probability of relapse was 64.1% and 46.1% for Groups A and B, respectively (P = 0.38). The use of etoposide was not associated with increased toxicity. CONCLUSION: The addition of etoposide to the Bu/Cy regimen was well tolerated, but did not appear to improve the outcome.     

以静脉马法兰为主的预处理自身移植治疗43例儿童高危恶性实体肿瘤

目的评价以静脉马法兰为主的预处理方案自身移植治疗儿童高危恶性实体肿瘤的安全性、有效性,探索中国儿童合适的静脉马法兰剂量。方法用回顾性分析的方法,对43例以静脉马法兰为主的预处理移植治疗的儿童高危恶性肿瘤临床资料进行分析。骨髓移植者采用卡铂350mg/m2.d×2+足叶乙甙(VP16)300mg/m2.d×2+马法兰(总量140mg/m2),外周血干细胞移植者采用卡铂300mg/m2.d×4+VP16160mg/m2.d×4+马法兰总量210mg/m2(移植前化疗休疗≥30天血象尚不能恢复正常或自身干细胞采集有核细胞数量不足3×108/kg者选用180mg/m2马法兰),临床观察药物的毒副反应并评估造血重建速度及患者预后。结果本组平均年龄7.6±4.2(1~17)岁,平均体重26.8±13.9(9.5~52)kg。因2例患儿连续进行2次移植,43例患儿共进行45例次移植,8例为骨髓移植、37例次为外周血造血干细胞移植,8例次患儿应用140mg/m2马法兰,10例应用180mg/m2马法兰,其余27例次应用210mg/m2马法兰。马法兰使用后26例次(57%)患儿出现腹泻,大多伴有腹痛、心前区不适及口腔黏膜炎,除1例应用马法兰180mg/m2患儿出现移植后造血功能恢复不良外,其余患儿平均11.4±8.5天中性粒细胞>0.5×109/L,21.4±9.5天血小板恢复至20×109/L以上。3个不同马法兰剂量组间造血恢复能力无明显差异。本组平均随访16.1±14.2个月(2~65个月),17例(39%)患儿平均移植后14.2±9.6个月(3~34个月)复发,其中12例为神经母细胞瘤。本组无移植相关的死亡,迄今仍有26例(61%)患儿处于无病生存状态。结论180mg/m2~210mg/m2的马法兰结合卡铂(300mg/m2.d×4)+VP16(160mg/m2.d×4天)用于自身造血干细胞移植治疗儿童晚期恶性实体肿瘤是安全有效的;黏膜炎是静脉马法兰应用后最常见的副反应;对于干细胞数量充足、化疗后骨髓恢复能力尚佳的移植患者以210mg/m2的马法兰剂量为妥;晚期神经母细胞瘤的治疗有待于探索更有效的方案。