title: Allogeneic graft-versus-hepatoblastoma effect.
abstract: Although the survival rate for pediatric patients with hepatoblastoma has improved, prognosis is still poor when the disease is unresectable and refractory to chemotherapy. Therefore, novel approaches are warranted. Herein, we describe a patient with recurrent metastatic hepatoblastoma who received a non-myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from an HLA-matched unrelated donor. After withdrawal of immunosuppressant and establishment of full donor T-cell engraftment, the tumor regressed and serum alpha-fetoprotein level decreased in concurrence with the onset of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Her disease recurred when GVHD resolved. This patient's clinical course provides evidence for the probable existence of allogeneic graft-versus-hepatoblastoma effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology-Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA.
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.forename: Rupert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Handgretinger
authors.forename: Wayne
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Furman
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.forename: Wing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D020350:Graft vs Tumor Effect / Q000276:immunology*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D018197:Hepatoblastoma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D019172:Transplantation Conditioning / Q000379:methods; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D017211:Treatment Failure