Feasibility and results of bone marrow transplantation from an HLA-mismatched unrelated donor for children and young adults with acquired severe aplastic anemia

Int J Hematol. 2007 Jun;85(5):437-42. doi: 10.1532/IJH97.06229.

Abstract

Treating patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who fail to respond to immunosuppressive therapy (IST) and do not have an HLA-matched donor is challenging. We report favorable outcomes in 11 patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from an HLA-mismatched unrelated donor. The median age was 11 years (range, 3-20 years). The conditioning regimen consisted of cyclophosphamide (200 mg/kg), antithymocyte globulin (10 mg/kg), and total body irradiation (5 Gy). Patients received tacrolimus and methotrexate for prophylaxis against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Donorrecipient pairs were mismatched for the HLA-DR antigen in 8 patients by serologic typing. HLA-A and HLA-B antigens were mismatched in 1 and 2 patients, respectively. Ten patients achieved engraftment. One patient who failed to engraft was rescued by a second transplantation from her mother, who was mismatched at 2 HLA antigens. Acute GVHD of grades II to IV occurred in 2 patients. Three patients developed limited chronic GVHD, and 1 patient developed extensive chronic GVHD of the lung. All patients are alive at 9 to 56 months after transplantation (median, 33 months). Considering our encouraging results, HLA-mismatched unrelated-donor BMT for SAA is feasible as a salvage therapy for nonresponders to IST.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Acute Disease
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Anemia, Aplastic / therapy*
  • Bone Marrow Transplantation*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Chronic Disease
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Graft Rejection
  • Graft vs Host Disease
  • Histocompatibility
  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class I
  • Histocompatibility Testing*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Salvage Therapy*
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Tissue Donors
  • Transplantation Conditioning
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Histocompatibility Antigens Class I