Chapters authored
Progress in Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation (HaploHCT), with cells from HLA-half-matched first degree related donors (siblings, children and parents), could revolutionize hematopoietic transplantation as it expands this form of treatment to approximately 40% of patients who do not have an HLA-matched donor in USA. This need is particularly acute in developing countries, which usually do not have an unrelated donor registry and/or cost is a major issue in acquiring unrelated donor stem cells. Accordingly, the number of haploSCTs done in USA, Europe, China, and developing countries is on the rise. Advantages to HaploHCT include almost universal (more than 95% of patients will have a half-matched related donor) and immediate availability of donor progenitor cells, the opportunity to select the best donor among family members to minimize treatment-related mortality, decrease relapse rate and improve outcomes [2], and the possibility to collect donor cells for cellular therapy post-transplantation, with the goal to enhance the anti-tumor effects of the graft. Despite its potential advantages, until recently, high donor-recipient HLA-histoincompatibility has proven very difficult to overcome.
Part of the book: Progress in Stem Cell Transplantation