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Description:
This session will review recent information about use of alternative donors for hematopoietic cell transplantation and provide updates about progress against the major barriers to successful transplantation: poor immune reconstitution, graft-versus-host disease, and relapse of the hematologic disease.
Dr. Claudio Anasetti will review the current results of alternative donor transplantation, including mismatched adult unrelated donors, cord blood, and haploidentical donors. He will discuss the theoretical and practical challenges of each potential graft source, and try to place these considerations in context for modern practice. He will offer an algorithm for donor choice outside of a clinical trial.
Dr. Marcel van den Brink will review data about gaps in immune reconstitution and the clinical consequences of this vulnerability. He will summarize efforts to improve general and pathogen-specific immunity. He will also briefly review anti-infective and vaccination strategies.
Dr. Robert Negrin will review the review the underlying biology of graft-versus-host disease to explore strategies to reduce the risk of this complication while maintaining or promoting graft-vs.-leukemia protection, particularly in the context of alternative donors.