Decitabine in Combination with Donor Lymphocyte Infusions can Induce Remissions in relapsed Myeloid Malignancies with Higher Leukemic Burden after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

For patients with myeloid malignancies, relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a major cause of mortality with until now limited treatment options, which include withdrawal of immunosuppression, donor lymphocyte infusions (DLIs), chemotherapy, second allogeneic HCT, or best supportive care. Especially the management of older patients unfit for further intensive treatment remains challenging. In recent years, a novel approach with the DNA hypomethylating agent (HMA) 5-azacytidine (AZA) in combination with DLIs showed promising results regarding disease control and even induction of complete remissions in AML/MDS patients with overt hematological relapse [1 –5], particularly when the disease burden was low (e.g.

Source: Leukemia Research - July 7, 2018 Category: Hematology Authors: Sebastian Sommer, Marjan Cruijsen, Rainer Claus, Hartmut Bertz, Ralph W äsch, Reinhard Marks, Robert Zeiser, Lioudmila Bogatyreva, Nicole M.A. Blijlevens, Annette May, Justus Duyster, Gerwin Huls, Walter J.F.M. van der Velden, Jürgen Finke, Michael Lüb Source Type: research