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Clinical Studies in Hematologic Microtransplantation

  • Stem Cell Transplantation (R Maziarz, Section Editor)
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Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The anti-tumor effects of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation depend upon engraftment of donor cells followed by a graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect. However, pre-clinical and clinical studies have established that under certain circumstances, anti-tumor responses can occur despite the absence of high levels of durable donor cell engraftment. Tumor response with little or no donor engraftment has been termed “microtransplantation.” It has been hard to define conditions leading to tumor responses without donor cell persistence in humans because the degree of engraftment depends very heavily upon many patient-specific factors, including immune status and degree of prior therapy. Likewise, it is unknown to what degree donor chimerism in the blood or tissue is required for an anti-tumor effect under conditions of microtransplantation. In this review, we summarize some key studies supporting the concept of microtransplantation and emphasize the importance of recent large studies of microtransplantation in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). These AML studies provide the first evidence of the efficacy of microtransplantation as a therapeutic strategy and lay the foundation for additional pre-clinical studies and clinical trials that will refine the understanding of the mechanisms involved and guide its further development as a treatment modality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, 195 Little Albany Street, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Kevin A. David, Dennis Cooper & Roger Strair

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  1. Kevin A. David
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  2. Dennis Cooper
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  3. Roger Strair
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Correspondence to Roger Strair.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Stem Cell Transplantation

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David, K.A., Cooper, D. & Strair, R. Clinical Studies in Hematologic Microtransplantation. Curr Hematol Malig Rep 12, 51–60 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-017-0361-6

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