Role of Transplant Conditioning Regimen Intensity in High-Risk Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

In the current issue of Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Konuma et al. [1] report the results of a retrospective analysis of outcomes for cytogenetically defined, poor-risk acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplant with myeloablative conditioning (MAC) versus reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC). Whereas the earliest HSC transplants used exclusively high-dose chemotherapy ± radiation as “conditioning” to achieve maximal tumor cell kill before infusion of marrow (or later peripheral blood–mobilized) HSCs, the recognition of the existence and significance of the immune-mediated antileukemia effect exerted by the donor graft (ie, graft-versus leukemia effect) [2] has led to the development and widespread adoption of RIC regimens with the goal of minimizing transplant-related toxicity yet preserving antileukemic activity [3].
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - Category: Hematology Authors: Source Type: research