title: Relationship between graft-versus-host disease and graft-versus-leukaemia in partial T cell-depleted bone marrow transplantation.
abstract: The success of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is limited by the major complications, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and relapse. The very beneficial effect of maximal T-cell depletion of the graft for prevention of GVHD has been counterbalanced by an increase in graft failure and relapse of disease. Therefore, we started an approach of partial T-cell depletion of the graft. GVHD and graft-versus-leukaemia (GVL) are strongly correlated after non-T cell-depleted BMT. Here, we report whether the correlation between GVHD and GVL also exists in partial T cell-depleted BMT from sibling donors. We retrospectively studied 117 adult patients with early haematological malignancies. Our method of partial T-cell depletion gave a relapse rate in patients with acute leukaemias similar to that observed in non-T cell-depleted BMT. However, patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia had a relapse rate that was similar to that observed in maximal T cell-depleted BMT. We found a significant correlation between the presence of chronic GVHD and an improved disease-free survival. Nevertheless, overall survival was lower in patients with chronic GVHD. There was no correlation between the occurrence of acute GVHD and disease-free or overall survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, University Medical Centre of Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: van der Straaten
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fijnheer
authors.forename: A W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Dekker
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Nieuwenhuis
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Verdonck
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002908:Chronic Disease; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality; D020544:Graft vs Leukemia Effect / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous