SIMPLIFICATION OF THE BLOOD STEM-CELL TRANSPLANTATION (BSCT) PROCEDURE - LARGE-VOLUME APHERESIS AND UNCONTROLLED RATE CRYOPRESERVATION AT -80-DEGREES-C

Very high-dose chemotherapy with autologous blood stem cell (BSC) resc ue becomes more and more widely performed. In order to simplify the te chnique, a large volume apheresis programme combined with an uncontrol led rate cryopreservation at -80 degrees C was developed. Twenty-six p atients suffering from multiple myeloma (n = 8), non-Hodgkin's lymphom a (n = 7), dysgerminoma (n = 4), breast cancer (n = 3), Hodgkin's dise ase (n = 2), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (n = 1) and acute myelocyti c leukaemia (n = 1) were autografted after a classical high-dose chemo therapy regimen. A single large volume apheresis was sufficient to obt ain the threshold value of CD34(+) BSC in 24/26 transplantations. The haematological recovery was favourably comparable with the previously published data obtained with controlled rate frozen BSC: median time t o granulocytes >1000/mu L and to a self-supporting platelet count >20, 000/mu L, respectively, 10.5 and 12 d. The treatment-related mortality was confined to 1/26 BSCT. These results indicate that this easy and cost-saving policy of BSCT is efficacious and safe: sustained long-ter m haematopoiesis, reduced morbidity and mortality were observed.