title: Lack of utility of chimerism studies obtained 2-3 months after myeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation for ALL.
abstract: Lineage-specific chimerism studies are commonly obtained at several time points after nonmyeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation to assess the tempo and degree of engraftment, and to monitor graft rejection. For patients who receive myeloablative transplants, the value of frequent chimerism analyses using sensitive molecular techniques is less certain. In this study, a retrospective analysis was performed to assess the transplant outcome of 89 adult patients with ALL who had chimerism studies of unfractionated BM cells or peripheral blood subsets performed approximately 80 days after transplantation. These patients received unmanipulated, myeloablative transplants using either HLA-identical or HLA-mismatched, related or unrelated donor stem cells. Incomplete donor engraftment was present only in the CD3+ peripheral blood T cells in a small percentage of patients. There was no correlation of mixed chimerism with transplant outcome. Routine 'day 80' chimerism studies in this group of patients who receive intensive, myeloablative conditioning regimens are not recommended.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109-1024, USA. kdoney@fhcrc.org
authors.forename: Kc
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Doney
authors.forename: Mr
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loken
authors.forename: Em
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.forename: Ag
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Fr
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Appelbaum
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019653:Myeloablative Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy*; D018183:Transplantation Chimera / Q000276:immunology*; D019172:Transplantation Conditioning / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D019653:Myeloablative Agonists