Pre- and post-bone marrow harvest anaemia is associated with lower CD34+ stem cell collection, high harvest volume and female gender.

BACKGROUND: Donor safety is paramount when performing bone marrow stem cell harvest. The incidence of full blood count (FBC) abnormalities among donors and variables associated with anaemia after marrow harvest are not well established. AIMS: To describe the frequency of FBC abnormalities prior to bone marrow stem cell harvest and to identify variables associated with post harvest anaemia. METHODS: Outcomes of 80 consecutive adult marrow harvests performed at our centre were analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: FBC abnormalities were present in 28% of donors prior to marrow harvest with normocytic anaemia the most common abnormality in 13%. Reduced donor haemoglobin (Hb) was independently correlated with lower CD34+ cell count per kg of recipient body weight. Anaemia (Hb < 100 g/L) was seen in 20% of donors after harvest with median decrease in Hb of 19 g/L. Variables independently associated with anaemia after harvest included donor to recipient weight ratio (P = 0.011), high collection volume (P = 0.044) and female gender (P = 0.023). Total nucleated cell and CD34 concentration in the final collected product were associated with the inverse of harvested marrow volume (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Pre-harvest anaemia should be corrected where possible particularly in female donors. Marrow collection volume should be minimised to reduce post-harvest anaemia, optimise CD34+ cell number and improve nucleated and stem cell concentrations in the harvest product.

Rescue haploidentical peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for engraftment failure: a single-centre case series.

Graft failure affects approximately 5% of allogeneic stem cell transplants, with a poor prognosis. Salvage second allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT2) is limited by high rates of transplant-related mortality from infection and graft-versus-host disease. We report on five adult patients receiving rescue alloSCT2 using haploidentical peripheral blood stem cells. All patients achieved neutrophil engraftment, two subsequently died from sepsis and disease relapse, respectively. Three patients remain alive up to 2 years post-transplant. We suggest consideration of haploidentical alloSCT2 for patients with graft failure.

Influence of Stem Cell Source on Outcomes of Allogeneic Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Therapy Transplants Using Haploidentical Related Donors.

We compared outcomes for 2 retrospective cohorts of patients undergoing reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) therapy transplants using haploidentical related donors and post-transplant prophylaxis against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) with high-dose cyclophosphamide, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate. The first cohort of 13 was transplanted with bone marrow (BM) as the stem cell source, whereas the second cohort of 23 used peripheral blood stem cells (PBSCs) mobilized with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. The BM cohort received a single 60-mg/kg dose of cyclophosphamide on day +3, whereas the PBSC cohort received 2 doses on days +3 and +4. Patients in the first cohort were slightly older and had a higher proportion of acute myeloid leukemia, but there were no differences in the distribution of Disease Risk Index scores between the 2 groups. Patients in the PBSC group received double the number of CD34(+) cells in the stem cell graft. Times to neutrophil and platelet recovery were not different between the 2 groups. Three patients, all in the PBSC group, failed to engraft but recovered with autologous hemopoiesis and survived. The 6-month cumulative incidences of acute GVHD were 55.1% for BM and 48.5% for PBSCs (P = .651), whereas 24-month cumulative rates for chronic GHVD were 28.6% for BM and 32.3% for PBSCs (P = .685). Only 2 patients, both in the BM group, died of nonrelapse causes, both of second cancers. The 2-year cumulative incidences of relapse were 43.9% for BM and 23.5% for PBSCs (P = .286). Overall survival at 2 years was significantly better for PBSC patients (P = .028), at 83.4% versus 52.7% for BM. Relapse-free and event-free survival did not differ significantly between BM and PBSC groups. In this retrospective analysis, we conclude that the use of PBSCs for haploidentical RIC transplants is a feasible strategy, with equivalent rates of acute and chronic GVHD and risk of relapse and low nonrelapse mortality compared with BM.

Single-Agent High-Dose Cyclophosphamide for Graft-versus-Host Disease Prophylaxis in Human Leukocyte Antigen-Matched Reduced-Intensity Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation Results in an Unacceptably High Rate of Severe Acute Graft-versus-Host Disease.

High-dose cyclophosphamide given early after allogeneic hemopoietic cell transplantation has been shown to be effective prophylaxis against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in the setting of HLA-matched myeloablative bone marrow grafts, allowing avoidance of long-term immunosuppression with calcineurin inhibitors in some patients. Whether this approach is feasible using granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)-mobilized peripheral blood stem cell grafts is unknown. We conducted an exploratory phase 2 trial of cyclophosphamide given at 50 mg/kg i.v. on days 3 and 4 after transplantation as sole GVHD prophylaxis in recipients of G-CSF-mobilized peripheral blood stem cell grafts from HLA-matched related or unrelated donors after reduced-intensity conditioning therapy with fludarabine, carmustine, and melphalan. Five patients, ages 52 to 67 years, with high-risk hematologic malignancies were enrolled. Four of the 5 developed severe acute GVHD of grades 3 to 4, requiring treatment with methylprednisolone and cyclosporine; 3 were steroid refractory and were given salvage therapy. One of these 4 patients died of hepatic GVHD, one died of sepsis, and 2 survived. We conclude that post-transplantation cyclophosphamide is inadequate as sole GVHD prophylaxis in the context of peripheral blood reduced-intensity conditioning transplantations from HLA-matched donors. This trial is registered at ACTRN12613001154796.