Effectiveness of Reduced Intensity Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Confirmed

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Effectiveness of Reduced Intensity Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants for Chronic

Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Confirmed

Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) have

presented long-term follow-up data showing that approximately 50% of patients

receiving reduced intensity allogeneic stem cell transplants for advanced

chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are alive at five years. This and another

study presented at the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Hematology,

December 8-11, in Atlanta, Georgia also showed that allogeneic stem cell

transplantation was successful in patients with adverse cytogenetics.

Patients with low grade lymphoma, including CLL, have many palliative treatment

options, but, ultimately, virtually all patients become refractory to treatment.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is the most effective method of producing

long-term disease-free survival and possible cure of patients with CLL. However,

transplant-related mortality is high following conventional myeloablative

treatment regimens. Allogeneic stem cell transplants can also be performed using

reduced-intensity treatment regimens resulting in a lower treatment-related

mortality while relying on a graft-versus tumor effect of the graft for the

anti-lymphoma effect. However, there has been concern about the long-term

effectiveness of this approach with very little long-term data available.

These researchers published the results of an initial group of 64 patients

receiving reduced intensity transplants in 2005 (see first item of related

news).1 The number of patients now treated is 82 with 52 receiving a related

transplant and 30 receiving an unrelated transplant. Median age of this group

was 52 years with the oldest patient being 72 years old. The median follow-up is

five years with the longest follow-up being seven years.