Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation - Blog Science Connections

Transplantation Trial With Marrow Treated
With Antimyeloid Monoclonal Antibodies
and Complement
Edward D. Ball, Gibbons G. Cornwell III, Letha E. Mills,
Robert McMillan, William Miller,
and Linda F. Thompson
Chemotherapeutic regimens in current use for patients with acute myelogenous
leukemia (AML) successfully induce complete remissions (CRs) in
up to 70% of patients (1). The majority of patients relapse eventually, however,
and become increasingly resistant to chemotherapy. In up to 50% of patients
who relapse, a second CR (CR2) that lasts an average of 4-5 months can be
induced (2). Long-term survivors are described after initial remissioninduction
chemotherapy, but they are rare. Considerable attention has been
focused recently on the use of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) to improve
upon the results of chemotherapy (3). Allogeneic BMT performed in first CR
(CR1) results in long-term survival and perhaps cure in 30-70% of patients,
depending on age (3). Allogeneic BMT in CR2 is less successful because of a
higher relapse rate of up to 50% in some series (4). Since most patients do not
have a suitable donor or are older than 40, the age at which the complications
of allogeneic BMT become increasingly common, alternative approaches to
allogeneic BMT such as the use of autologous bone marrow are of interest. In
theory, bone marrow obtained from patients in remission from AML may
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