A recent study published in Annals of Hematology has reported that allogenic cord blood stem cell transplants are effective at treating relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This important discovery confirms to doctors that allogenic transplants are a viable treatment option for patients with B-cell lymphoma.
Allogenic stem cell transplantations use stem cells from a healthy donor. This type of transplant is performed after high-intensity chemotherapy or radiation has eliminated malformed cells in the patient’s body. If the procedure is successful, the healthy donor stem cells can replace the patient’s bone marrow stem cells.
Medical researchers already knew that autologous stem cell transplantation was a viable option for patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL, but did not know if allogenic stem cells transplantation was effective. Autologous transplants use healthy stem cells from a patient’s own body, which have usually been gathered before the illness takes hold.
The study was performed in multiple transplantation centres in Japan. It involved 68 adult patients with DLBCL, who received allo-HSCT between 2003 and 2016. The researchers used the participant’s overall survival rate as their primary end point. They also used relapse-free survival, relapse rate, and non-relapse mortality as secondary end points.
The study’s participants had a median age of 52, with 32.4% having previously received chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant. 45.6% of participants had achieved either complete remission or partial remission at the time of allo-HSCT. The stem cells given to the patients came from three source: peripheral blood (27.4%), bone marrow (32.8%), and cord blood (39.7%).
Interestingly, the researchers found that bone marrow and cord blood stem cells delivered a higher survival rate compared to peripheral blood. They also found that there was no significant difference in non-relapse based on stem cell source or amongst participant with history of receiving autologous stem cells.
The authors of the study commented that their “analysis showed that allo-HSCT including cord blood transplantation can be a promising therapeutic option for relapsed or refractory DLBCL patients, especially those who have achieved CR/PR.”
This exciting discovery gives doctors another option for treating patients with this form of lymphoma.
Source: Allo-HSCT in DLBCL: Cord Blood May Be a Suitable Source of Stem Cells
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