title: Tumour cell contamination of autologous stem cells grafts in high-risk neuroblastoma: the good news?
abstract: We analysed the effect of graft-contaminating tumour cells on the long-term survival of 24 patients with high-risk neuroblastoma and found that patients whose grafts contained detectable neuroblastoma cells had a significantly higher probability of survival than did patients with no detectable tumour cells. Estimated contamination of the graft by more than 2000 tumour cells was associated with a significantly higher probability of survival than contamination with fewer tumour cells. We hypothesise that the presence of a critical number of graft-contaminating neuroblastoma cells can elicit a protective antitumour immune response after autologous transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Stem Cell Transplantation, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Mail stop 321, 332 N. Lauderdale St., Memphis, TN 38105, USA. Rupert.Handgretinger@stjude.org
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Handgretinger
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ihm
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klingebiel
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Niethammer
mesh_terms: D018952:Antigens, CD34; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D016465:Bone Marrow Purging; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008231:Lymphopenia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000628:therapy; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D017741:Survivors; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous
chemical_list: D018952:Antigens, CD34; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents