Change of apheresis device decreased the incidence of severe acute graft-versus-host disease among patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation with sibling donors.

BACKGROUND: The composition of the graft used for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is important for the treatment outcome. Different apheresis devices may yield significant differences in peripheral blood stem cell graft cellular composition. We compared stem cell grafts produced by Cobe Spectra (Cobe) and Spectra Optia (Optia) with use of the mononuclear cell (MNC) protocol, and evaluated clinical outcome parameters such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), transplant-related mortality (TRM), relapse, and overall survival. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: During 5 years, 31 Cobe Spectra and 40 Spectra Optia grafts were analyzed for CD34, CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19, and CD56 cell content. Clinical outcome parameters were correlated and compared between the two patient groups using different apheresis devices. RESULTS: Optia grafts contained fewer lymphocytes compared to Cobe (p < 0.001). Optia grafts had a significantly lower incidence of acute GvHD Grades II through IV (Cobe 45% vs. Optia 23%; p = 0.039) and TRM (16% vs. 2.5%; p < 0.05) but higher chronic GvHD (32% vs. 67%; p = 0.005) compared to Cobe grafts. Finally, the multivariate analysis showed a significant correlation among the different apheresis devices and both acute GvHD II through IV and severe chronic GvHD. The multivariate analysis also showed a significant correlation between the CD3+ cell dose and the incidence of severe acute GvHD. CONCLUSION: Optia-obtained grafts yielded a lower acute GvHD Grades II-IV and TRM risk, but had no impact on relapse or overall survival in this study. Understanding and further improvement of peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) apheresis techniques may be used in the future to personalize HSCT by, for example, fine-tuning the GvHD incidence.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma and lymphoma: an analysis of factors influencing stem cell collection and hematological recovery.

Autologous stem cell transplantation is standard treatment for newly diagnosed younger patients with multiple myeloma and for relapsed or refractory Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Patient characteristics influencing the yield from stem cell collection and time from transplant to platelet recovery were retrospectively analyzed in 630 consecutive patients, attempting to define adequate amounts of CD34+ cells to collect and reinfuse; 509/630 patients (81%) mobilized the requested CD34+ cell number. Factors influencing the harvest yield were age (P < 0.001) and gender, where 85% of men and 78% of women (P < 0.02) attained the requested stem cell amount. Time to platelet recovery was significantly faster for multiple myeloma patients compared to all other diagnoses (14.6 days compared to 19.8, P < 0.0001). Multiple myeloma patients were older than lymphoma patients but received stem cell transplant up-front as opposed to second line therapy for other patient groups. Multivariate analysis revealed that the most important factor influencing platelet recovery was diagnosis, followed by the amount of reinfused CD34+ cells (P < 0.001, P < 0.05). Blood group O+ had the fastest platelet recovery, whereas blood group A harvested the highest cell amounts. In conclusion, we demonstrate a significant importance of the number of reinfused CD34+ cells on the time to platelet recovery.

Family donor care management: principles and recommendations.

The World Marrow Donor Association (WMDA) is an international organization fostering collaboration in clinical transplantation and promoting the interests of unrelated stem cell donors. The WMDA has developed standards for the recruitment, counseling, work-up and subsequent donations to protect the interests of donors. Although the care of family donors has been carefully considered and managed in transplant centers (TCs) internationally over numerous years (and increasingly TCs are facing accreditation programs, which address this issue) there is currently a lack of standardized guidelines for the management of family donors. The underlying principles of family donor care are in many ways identical to those concerning unrelated donors, although key ethical considerations differ. Although the WMDA is primarily involved in the field of unrelated donors, we believe that it is important to collaborate with those involved with family donors, to standardize the care. This document hopes to encourage increased collaboration between those caring for related and unrelated donors, and build on the extensive work, which has already been undertaken in this field to homogenize care. We recognize that there will be financial, regulatory and logistic differences in different countries and that the manner in which these principles are achieved may vary.