Umbilical cord blood transplantation.
Over the past decade umbilical cord blood has been established as a viable source of hematopoietic stem cell for allogeneic transplantation. Early experience with umbilical cord blood transplantation (CBT) demonstrated a lower incidence of graft-versus-host disease even though the procedure was performed with HLA-disparate grafts. The overall outcome of CBT appears similar to that of allogeneic bone marrow transplant. The expansion of the donor selection is particularly beneficial to ethnic minorities, whose representation in the marrow registries is relatively small. The major drawbacks of CBT are slow hematopoietic recovery and a high incidence of graft failure, as a result of a lower number of progenitors infused. This paper reviews the current results of CBT and ongoing investigations to increase its availability to a larger number of recipients.
Petropoulos
Demetrios
D
Division of Pediatrics, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 87, Houston, TX 77030, USA. dpetro@mdanderson.org
Chan
Ka Wah
KW
D002648:Child; D036101:Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000166:cytology*; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000097:blood / Q000628:therapy*; D014019:Tissue Donors