Iwona Wylezol

Homozygosity for human leucocyte antigen-C ligands of KIR2DL1 is associated with increased risk of relapse after human leucocyte antigen-C-matched unrelated donor haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Human leucocyte antigen (HLA)‐C molecules regulate the function of natural killer cells and may be subdivided into two groups, C(1) and C(2), based on their specificity for inhibitory killer immunoglobulin‐like receptors. We analysed the impact of the HLA‐C genotype on outcome of HLA‐C‐matched unrelated donor haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (URD‐HSCT) recipients. HLA‐C(2) homozygous patients (n = 18) had lower probability of overall survival (P = 0·01) and disease‐free survival (P = 0·02), resulting from increased relapse rate (P = 0·02) when compared with both HLA‐C(1) homozygous (n = 43) and HLA‐C(1),C(2) heterozygous (n = 50) subgroups. Patients lacking HLA‐C(1) should, therefore, be considered at increased risk of relapse following HLA‐C‐matched URD‐HSCT.

Comparision of benefits of early, delayed, and no administration of G-CSF after autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in lymphoma patients.

BACKGROUND Autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) is commonly used in the treatment of lymphoma patients. G-CSF is widely used to boost white blood cell recovery. However, there are no clear data indicating which strategy of using G-CSF provides the most benefit. The aim of our study was to compare 3 strategies of G-CSF administration: from day +1, from day +5, and no administration. MATERIAL AND METHODS Data from 211 patients treated at 3 centers were gathered retrospectively. The patients in the 3 analyzed groups were not different in regard to type of disease, age, sex, and number of CD34+ cells received. RESULTS The 3 strategies of G-CSF dosage had very similar results. G-CSF boosted the recovery of white blood cells and shortened the time of neutropenia. However, there were no differences in confirmed infections and the duration of hospitalization after transplantation. CONCLUSIONS Our results question the use of G-CSF in a post-PBSCT setting, as it does not provide significant benefits in reducing the number of infections or shortening the duration of hospitalization.