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Relapse After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

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Blood and Marrow Transplant Handbook

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Abstract

Relapse of disease is the major cause of death and treatment failure following both allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Over the past 40 years, there has been very little improvement in outcomes of patients who relapse following HCT. In the case of allogeneic HCT, this lack of improvement has occurred despite a greater understanding of the biology underlying the graft-versus-tumor/leukemia (GVT) effects and the introduction of donor leukocyte/lymphocyte infusion (DLI) as a treatment option.

As options are extremely limited once disease has recurred following autologous HCT, research efforts have focused on prevention by enhancing conditioning regimens and through maintenance therapies. In contrast, research on relapse following allogeneic HCT has primarily focused on treatment, particularly on immunotherapeutic approaches such as withdrawal of immune suppression and DLI. This chapter provides an overview on the understanding of disease biology, disease monitoring, preventive measures, and treatment approaches for post-HCT relapse with a particular emphasis on allogeneic transplantation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Michael R. Bishop

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  1. Michael R. Bishop
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Correspondence to Michael R. Bishop .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Hematologic Malignancies Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant & Cell Therapy Program, Knight Cancer Institute Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Richard T. Maziarz

  2. Center for Hematologic Malignancies Adult Blood and Marrow Transplant & Cell Therapy Program, Knight Cancer Institute Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Susan Schubach Slater

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Bishop, M.R. (2021). Relapse After Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. In: Maziarz, R.T., Slater, S.S. (eds) Blood and Marrow Transplant Handbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53626-8_44

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53626-8_44

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-53625-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-53626-8

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