Preparing For A Stem-Cell Transplant To Treat AML, While Finding A Matching Donor
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/ Updated October 6th, 2021

Preparing For A Stem-Cell Transplant To Treat AML, While Finding A Matching Donor

Medical Source: Dr. Caitlin Costello
UC San Diego Health
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What To Know Before A Stem Cell Transplant

  • For patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other blood cancers, a stem cell transplant offers the possibility of lasting remission.
  • Prior to a transplant, patients will undergo testing to ensure the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys are healthy.
  • Donor cells may come from a sibling or close relative. An unrelated donor with a similar genetic profile can also provide a donor-match.
To prepare for a stem cell transplant, first doctors have to be comfortable that you’re as fit and healthy as you can be.

A stem-cell transplant is used to treat blood cancers, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and lymphoma, as well as multiple myeloma and certain blood or immune-system disorders. When the transplant uses healthy blood-forming cells (stem cells) from a donor, the procedure is called an allogeneic stem-cell transplant.

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“We don’t believe that chemotherapy, for the majority of leukemias, is sufficient in order to cure patients of their disease, forever,” says Dr. Caitlin Costello, hematologist-oncologist at UC San Diego Health. “And so a transplant is an opportunity to do that – cure patients with leukemia.”

After the patient’s own stem cells have been destroyed by high doses of chemotherapy or radiation, they are replaced with healthy stem cells from a donor. (In a variation on this procedure, an autologous stem cell transplant, the patient’s own stem cells are used.)

 

Patients will undergo testing to determine the strength of their heart, lungs, liver, and, kidneys, says Dr. Costello.

“And while you are going through this, your donor, who has not been identified, is being searched for,” says Dr. Costello.

A sibling donor is ideal, says Dr. Costello. Siblings have a 1 in 4 chance of matching.  A close relative may also be a potential match. When the donor is an identical twin, the procedure is known as a syngeneic stem-cell transplant, and offers perfect genetic match.

Donor cells can also come from an unrelated donor who is genetically similar to the patient.

“If a sibling is not a match or is unavailable, we’ll be looking for an unrelated donor in a world-wide registry. So while you’re undergoing your testing, your transplant doctor is identifying a donor who would be a good option for you,” says Dr. Costello.

To learn more about the next step in the stem cell transplant process, click here.

 

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Caitlin Costello, MD, is a board-certified hematologist and medical oncologist who specializes in treating a variety of blood cancers, including multiple myeloma, lymphoma, and leukemia. Read More

Stem-Cell Transplants for AML

Stem-cell transplants allow for doctors to give high doses of chemotherapy to people with AML, but the side effects can be severe. It’s important for people to be monitored closely for weeks as the immune system regrows.

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