Transplantation of bone marrow and stem cells

New treatment methods, approved by the division, include the transplantation of bone marrow and stem cells in the case of autoimmune diseases. Transplantation of bone marrow and stem cells was formally used to treat exceptional cancer diseases.

Today, this method is acceptable for the treatment of other severe diseases, such as autoimmune.

High-doses chemotherapy, used in combination with radiotherapy, destroys blood forming stem cells of the bone marrow together with cancer-affected cells. The vitally important blood-forming process can be renewed after the transplantation of stem cells. The main principle of this method is the transfusion of healthy blood-forming and immune stem cells to the patient exposed to a given intensive therapy.

Autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantations are two different procedures. The transfusion of a patient’s own stem cells after chemo- or radiation therapy is carried out during the so-called autologous transplantation. Stem cells are transfused to restore the immune system and blood-forming process. Donor stem cells are transfused during the so-called allogeneic transplantation. Stem cell transplantation requires a specially equipped oncology center and highly qualified personnel. The first successful steps for using this method were made in the early 1970’s and today this method is widely used on a large scale in oncology centers.

In contrast to autologous transplantation, allogeneic transplantation cannot be performed without a healthy donor. A family member (so-called related allogeneic transplantation), or a non-family member (so-called non-related allogeneic transplantation) can be a donor, provided they have an identical HLA human leukocyte antigen. Placental blood or blood from the umbilical cord, just after childbirth and with the mother’s consent, is another source of obtaining stem cells.

Autologous transplantation primarily requires high-dose therapy and radiation, allogeneic transplantation also requires a so-called graft versus tumor (GVT) effect accompanied by the immune systems reaction against cancer cells still present in the body. Under these circumstances, allogeneic transplantation is not considered to be “of better quality” compared to autologous – selection of the transplantation method is highly dependent on the treatment method and health status of each individual patient.

This kind of therapy can cause a strain on the body, but it is also a new chance for the patient. This was formally a long therapy and now only lasts 12 weeks. After this period of time, the patient should be able to return to a normal way of life, however control check-ups and examinations are still required.

The specialists in the Division of Haematology and Oncology strive to continually improve and study new trends in the area of transplantation, such as dosage reduction followed by the allogeneic transplantation of stem cells and the allogeneic transplantation of stem cells belonging to an HLA-identical donor. Therapeutic research of active immunotherapy for the patients with malignant lymphomas (lymph node cancer) and numerous investigations of myelodysplasia syndrome management are underway in the area of hematology and oncology.

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