Donor Lymphocyte Infusion in Hematologic Malignancies—Good to be Fresh?

Conclusion We conclude that the use of fresh cells versus cryopreserved cells does not have an impact on outcomes, and selected patients can achieve long-term survival with DLI for treatment of relapse after transplantation, although the overall outcomes remain dismal. Micro-Abstract Since its initial application in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) has been applied to various hematologic malignancies with varied success. A recent trend has been the shift from using fresh cells to cryopreserved cells. In a retrospective analysis of 63 patients, we found that there was no difference in outcomes based on the type of cells used for DLI. However, in a subset of 32 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)/myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), the use of cryopreserved cells appears to have resulted in improved event-free survival (EFS) in patients who underwent myeloablative transplantation.
Source: Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma and Leukemia - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research