Background: Allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (allo-SCT) from human leukocyte antigen identical related donor (RD) is taken priority over unrelated donor (URD), however, less than 30% of patients do not have a suitable RD. Transplantation from an URD should be considered for those patients. In order to investigate the role of URD, we retrospectively analyzed efficacy and safety of allo-SCT from URD and RD in patients with myeloid malignancies.

Patients and methods: One hundred six patients with myeloid malignancies (acute myeloid leukemia 48, chronic myeloid leukemia 38, and myelodysplastic syndrome 20) who received myeloablative regimens were analyzed. The stem cell source were bone marrow from URD (n=43) and peripheral blood stem cells or bone marrow from RD (n=63). Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of taclorimus and short-term methotrexate (sMTX) for URD, or cyclosporine and sMTX for RD.

Results: Median follow-up was 6.3 (0.3–17.2) years, and median age of patients was 37 (15–55) years old. Hematological studies demonstrated donor engraftment in all patients. Incidence of grades II to IV of acute GVHD was 32% in URD and 18% in RD, and extended chronic GVHD was 31% in URD and 28% in RD. Probability of 8-year actuarial survival was 62% in URD and 54% in RD (p=0.4225), and 8-year disease-free survival was 64% in URD and 47% in RD (p=0.1412). There were no apparent differences in transplant-related mortality (TRM) (14% in URD and 24% in RD), relapse (14% in URD and 32% in RD) between both groups.

Conclusion: These results suggested that allo-SCT from URD has comparable safety and effectiveness for adult patients with myeloid malignancies.

Author notes

Disclosure: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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