melphalan and beta-Thalassemia

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with a hemoglobinopathy can be curative but is limited by donor availability. Although positive results are frequently observed in those with an HLA-matched sibling donor, use of unrelated donors has been complicated by poor engraftment, excessive regimen-related toxicity, and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). As a potential strategy to address these obstacles, a pilot study was designed that incorporated both a reduced-intensity conditioning and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Six patients were enrolled, including 4 with high-risk sickle cell disease (SCD) and 2 with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major. Conditioning consisted of fludarabine (150 mg/m(2)), melphalan (140 mg/m(2)), and alemtuzumab (60 mg for patients weighing > 30 kg and .9 mg/kg for patients weighing <30 kg). Two patients received HLA 7/8 allele matched bone marrow and 4 received 4-5/6 HLA matched umbilical cord blood as the source of HSCs. MSCs were of bone marrow origin and derived from a parent in 1 patient and from an unrelated third-party donor in the remaining 5 patients. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine A and mycophenolate mofetil. One patient had neutropenic graft failure, 2 had autologous hematopoietic recovery, and 3 had hematopoietic recovery with complete chimerism. The 2 SCD patients with autologous hematopoietic recovery are alive. The remaining 4 died either from opportunistic infection, GVHD, or intracranial hemorrhage. Although no infusion-related toxicity was seen, the cotransplantation of MSCs was not sufficient for reliable engraftment in patients with advanced hemoglobinopathy. Although poor engraftment has been observed in nearly all such trials to date in this patient population, there was no evidence to suggest that MSCs had any positive impact on engraftment. Because of the lack of improved engraftment and unacceptably high transplant-related mortality, the study was prematurely terminated. Further investigations into understanding the mechanisms of graft resistance and development of strategies to overcome this barrier are needed to move this field forward.

Topics: Adolescent; Alemtuzumab; Anemia, Sickle Cell; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; beta-Thalassemia; Child; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; Female; Graft vs Host Disease; Histocompatibility Testing; HLA Antigens; Humans; Male; Melphalan; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; Myeloablative Agonists; Survival Analysis; Transplantation Conditioning; Transplantation, Homologous; Treatment Failure; Unrelated Donors; Vidarabine

Seventy-three BMT procedures (42 allogeneic-BMT, 30 autologous-BMT, 1 syngeneic transplant) were undertaken at the Shariati Hospital in Tehran between March 1991 and November 1993. Allogeneic-BMT was performed for thalassaemia major (n = 23), AML in complete remission (n = 3), severe aplastic anaemia (n = 7), CML (n = 7), dyskeratosis congenita (n = 2) and Fanconi anaemia (n = 1). Conditioning regimens comprised busulphan (BU) plus cyclophosphamide (CY) or CY only. Thirty-two (78%) of the 43 patients remain alive 1-34 months after BMT. Twelve patients died: the causes of death were haemorrhagic cystitis (n = 1), CMV pneumonitis (n = 1), GVHD (n = 3), infection (n = 3), rejection (n = 1), VOD (n = 2) and hepatitis (n = 1). Autologous-BMT was performed for patients with AML in CR (n = 16), ALL in CR (n = 9), lymphoma in relapse (n = 3), Ewing sarcoma (n = 1) and multiple myeloma (n = 1). The median age was 18 years. Conditioning regimens were Ara C plus CY, etoposide plus CY and high-dose melphalan. Sixteen (54%) of the 30 patients survive, 14 in continuous complete remission. The causes of death were relapse (AML (n = 7), ALL (n = 4), lymphoma (n = 1)), VOD (n = 1) and infection (n = 1).

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Anemia, Aplastic; beta-Thalassemia; Bone Marrow Transplantation; Busulfan; Child; Combined Modality Therapy; Cyclophosphamide; Cytarabine; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Financing, Personal; Graft vs Host Disease; Humans; Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; Iran; Lymphoma; Male; Melphalan; Middle Aged; Transplantation, Autologous; Transplantation, Homologous