Improved outcomes using G‐CSF‐mobilized blood and bone marrow grafts as the source of stem cells compared with G‐PB after HLA‐identical sibling transplantation in patients with acute leukemia

This retrospective study compared the transplantation outcomes of 98 consecutive patients with acute leukemia. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation was performed using G‐CSF‐mobilized bone marrow and blood (G‐BM&PB) or G‐CSF‐mobilized peripheral blood (G‐PB) from HLA‐identical sibling donors. The G‐BM&PB and G‐PB groups displayed significantly different neutrophil recovery rates (medians of 15 vs. 14 d, respectively; p = 0.009) but similar platelet recovery rates. The cumulative incidences of grades II–IV acute graft‐versus‐host disease (aGVHD) in the G‐BM&PB and G‐PB cohorts were similar (16.2 ± 4.7% vs. 21.8 ± 7.4%, respectively; p = 0.676), but the incidences of grades III‐IV aGVHD were significantly different (5.5 ± 3.1% vs. 18.9 ± 7.1%, respectively; p = 0.042). The G‐BM&PB and G‐PB cohorts displayed similar cumulative incidences of chronic GVHD (cGVHD, 49.1 ± 5.7% vs. 42.7 ± 6.8%, respectively; p = 0.465), one‐yr cumulative incidences of treatment‐related mortality (16.5 ± 3.5% vs. 24.4 ± 4.1%, respectively; p = 0.220), and five‐yr cumulative incidences of relapse (13.9 ± 4.8% vs. 26.8 ± 7.2%, respectively; p = 0.113). The five‐yr probability of leukemia‐free survival (LFS) was significantly higher in the G‐BM&PB group than in the G‐PB group (77.8 ± 5.2% vs. 57.6 ± 8.6%, respectively; p = 0.023). Multivariate analysis identified G‐PB as an independent risk factor for grades III‐IV aGVHD and LFS. Our results suggest that HLA‐identical transplantation with G‐BM&PB results in superior clinical outcomes compared with G‐PB for patients with acute leukemia.